Yamaibara
by Auroras-flame
Summary: After her father picks a forbidden flower, Kagome gets traded in for his life and must live in the demon Inuyasha's castle as a prisoner. Strangely enough, she isn't really treated as a prisoner. Will she able to make do in her extravagant prison? InuKag
1. Yama no Dobutsu

Hello everybody! This is a combination between alternate universe and a Beauty and the Beast Fic. But don't worry for those who like original fanfictions and felt they've read it all before. I'm going to try to be as un-cliché as humanly possible. Enjoy.

**Yamaibara**

Chapitre 1

Yama no Dobutsu (Beast of the Mountain)

By, Auroras-flame

Higurashi-san had been traveling for weeks. His mule died yesterday from starvation. Without food, and only so much water left- he too would surely die if he kept this up any longer. He realized that the dead mule was a source of food- but he couldn't bring himself to eat the thing that had been his only companion for about a month now... that and the thing died from starvation- how much meat could he get out of that?

The forest he was traveling in was at a slope, a steep one- undoubtedly some mountains. But the problem with this place was that everything was dead. If he had found any trace of life he would have killed it and ate it by now... but there was nothing.

His legs were tired now from all his upward climbing. Why was he doing something so stupid one might ask? Well... he was recently visiting China over the late winter and early spring. He promised his wife, father-in-law, his son, and his daughter a present from there.

They each asked for different things, each things that China undoubtedly had- except his daughter. She liked flowers and especially rare ones. The one she wanted from China was called the Green Rose. From what he understood, it wasn't really pretty, but it _was_ pretty rare. His guide informed him that since the winter season had just passed, all of the Green Roses were just starting to sprout and they were very difficult to take care of- he doubted that he could take care of the rose on his trip back to Japan- and even if he did, he doubted his daughter could keep it alive long enough to enjoy it. There was also the problem that with one random cold day it would be dead before she could say "Thank you Daddy."

Since he couldn't find what his daughter wanted, he was now searching for a not necessarily a better present- but one she would like just as much. There were rumors that on top of the mountain he was climbing was a special rare rose called the Yamaibara. Beautiful and rare it was- he was sure Kagome would forget about her Green Rose if he brought that back for her. That, and they were in bloom in May.

He got up again and started to climb. He had to be getting close, there couldn't that much mountain left...

He kept on climbing for a while. Then he stumbled onto something peculiar. It was... a road...

He stepped onto the road which seemed pretty even considering this was a mountain. He looked up the mountain. The road led to stairs... like at the shrine back home. He bit his lower lip, sensing danger from this path, but he decided to climb up the stairs anyway. So on he strode. It wasn't until he reached the top he discovered how wrong he had to be about the peculiar road.

There was a grand palace, but he didn't care about the palace, what he cared for was right in front of the palace. A garden! A garden filled with hundreds- many thousands mountain roses. It was like the jackpots of jackpots. Kagome would be thrilled if he could bring home an entire bouquet of roses. Forget the Green Rose, this was the better deal.

He withdrew his dagger from a pack he was carrying. He got to the roses and started to cut them at the bottom of their stems. He admired the roses; they had big, white petals that closed around in an egg shape with a small point at the end. Their stamens were kept tidily in a small circle. They were in small clusters at the end of each stem. Kagome would be absolutely thrilled.

He glanced up at the palace. It was disgusting. He was positive that nobody would live there. So- the roses were his to take.

He grinned merrily as he picked the roses one by one. After cutting all that's necessary to make a bouquet he took out a silk piece of cloth and wrapped them up. He took a small portion of his water to dampen the cloth so the roses didn't dry out.

He sighed happily. Finally, he could return home with a present for each of the people in his family. He missed them so much and he couldn't wait to see their smiling faces after bring them back such wonders.

In the middle of his own rejoicing he heard an agitated voice behind him, "What the hell do you think you're doing, old man?"

Higurashi-san froze. He turned around and gasped at a demon behind him. He wore all red. His white hair, golden eyes, razor sharp claws, and cat ears were proof of his demon parentage.

"Well? You gonna answer why you're stealing my Yamaibara?" the demon asked again, flexing his claws menacingly, "I'm running low on patience."

"M- m- my- my daughter wanted some," Higurashi-san explained.

"And that makes it okay to steal?" the demon crossed his arms.

"No... I thought this palace was abandoned," Higurashi tried to tell the demon, "I didn't know they belonged to anybody."

"Do you ever look before you leap, old man?" the demon glared down at him.

Higurashi cowered to the ground and begged, "Please spare my life Neko-sama!"

"Neko-? I'm a dog demon!" he yelled, clearly insulted.

"I'm sorry!" he apologized, "Please spare my life Inu-sama! I will do anything if I can just see my family one last time."

"Wait- wait-," the demon smirked, "so let me get this strait. If I let you go see your family; you'll come back here to die- without any angry mobs or nothing?" the demon asked skeptically, "How stupid do you think I am?"

"Please, I just want to see my wife and children!" Higurashi continued, "I'll do anything in return! I'll give you anything in return!"

The Inu gave a sigh, "There's nothing of yours that I want..." he paused for a little, "on second thought..."

Higurashi-san could not see the demon's face at the moment, for he was too busy bowing- but he had an idea that he was smirking right now.

"You said you had a daughter? How old?" the demon asked, "And bring your face up."

Higurashi-san did as he commanded. He gulped, afraid to answer to the question about his daughter. He stuttered, "She's 15..."

"Great, you have a deal. Your life, if you bring her to me," the demon bargained.

"What?! No! Never! I will not send my daughter to die!" Higurashi-san cried defiantly.

"Look Pops. I'm not going to kill her," the demon covered his ears as Higurashi yelled.

"I'm not going to send her to get raped either!" Higurashi-san continued.

"My gods you idiot! I'm got going to rape your damned daughter! Stop with the yelling!" he barked.

"What would you do with her?" Higurashi-san asked, attempting to calm himself.

"I'm not going to do anything to her. She won't get hurt or offended and yadda-yadda, she'll be comfortable, she'll have human companions...," he stopped himself, "wait a sec... I don't have to explain this to you," the demon cracked his knuckles.

"She… won't be harmed?" Higurashi-san asked hopefully.

"No damn it!" the demon scowled, "But when she comes here, you'll never see her again..."

"That's such a hard commitment," Higurashi-san mumbled.

"This is the case pops. You either can die and you'll daughter live in whatever crap shack you live in now- or she can live with me and my pals, and get dressed and fed well, while you go live with your wife and other kids. Ok? You have five seconds to decide..."

Higurashi thought...

"three seconds..."

Higurashi had to go what he thought was best for his child and himself...

"one second! Time's up!"

"Ok!" Higurashi-san cried, "I'll do it."

"Ok, I'll be expecting her in five days, capiche? Or else I'll…" the demon thought it over, "… find your sorry ass and kill you or something…"

"I understand."

Oo

Souta huffed on Kagome's lap, "Why isn't he here yet? It's already sundown and he promised!" He crossed his arms childishly.

"Stop that Souta," Kagome instructed, "You'll wrinkle your yukata. You don't want father to see you messy when he gets home do you?"

"No..." Souta grumbled "But I want him home. We haven't seen him in over a mon-"

"Thank the gods! It's him!" Kagome cried as she looked down the shrine steps.

"Fetch Mama Souta! And Jii-san too!" Kagome ordered.

"Hai!" he cried as he ran into their living quarters.

Kagome hopped down the steps in excitement. He was already half up the stairs but she wanted to hug him as soon as possible.

She hopped in front of him and embraced him, "Irasshai to-chan!"

"Tadaima," he gave a half smile- only to turn into a frown. Kagome stopped hugging him. He seemed sad.

"Daijobu?" Kagome asked out of concern.

"... Daijobu," her father nodded.

"Dear!" cried her mother from the stairs. She was also in a kimono. Kagome could see behind her mother was her grandfather coming to see his son-in-law at his own pace.

"Tadaima!" her father smiled joyfully.

"Otou-san! Otou-san!" Souta yelled as he ran down the stairs to his father, "What did you bring me? What did you bring me?"

"Just what you asked for-" he took off his pack and searched around for it, "Here. A real Chinese martial artists' outfit."

"Yay!" he squealed as he unfolded the cloth to look at all of it.

"I got Jii-san his Chinese scrolls, and Okaa-san her Chinese slippers and you Kagome," he turned to his one and only daughter, "I couldn't find any green roses for you."

Kagome frowned. Was that why he felt bad about hugging her? She smiled at him. That had to be it. He just didn't want her to be disappointed with him. She assured him, "It's alright Tou-chan! I heard that the Green roses aren't very pretty, so I'm okay with it."

"I'm not done- I got you these instead," he pulled out a bouquet of gorgeous white Yamaibara roses. Kagome gasped as her father handed them to her. They were gorgeous. He mentioned, "They aren't Chinese, but I hope you like them."

"My goodness dear," her mother came to inspect the roses, "Those are very rare- and very expensive. How ever could you afford those with the amount of money that you took with you?"

"I didn't pay for them, I found them. An entire garden's worth of them," Kagome's father explained.

"Really?" Kagome was immediately interested, "Is it a mountain close by?"

"Yes, do you want me to take you there a couple days from now? As a day trip- just you and me?" her father suggested. It seemed like it would be an offer with love in each syllable, but he made it sound like an trip he didn't want her to take.

"I would love that, Daddy," Kagome nodded her head, "I can't wait to see all of the Yamaibara."

Oo

Yes, I am aware that this is an inhumanly short chapter. But it's more of a prologue. The next chap will be longer (by like twice as much) I swear.


	2. Terou Kaado

Wow, I've never gotten so many reviews for a first chapter before. I guess people really do like the Beauty and the Beast fics. Well- I hope to hear from all of my reviewers after I finish this chapter!

**Yamaibara**

Chapitre 2

Terou Kaado (Tarot Card)

By, Auroras-flame

"So, you threatened this guy into bringing his daughter here," Sango mused, "I'm sure you've heard this plenty of times, but you are a heartless jerk."

"Bite me," Inuyasha smirked, "I need her. It's in the contract. Anyway, it wasn't my fault that the guy would prefer his own life over his daughter's freedom."

"Wow, Inuyasha- we see you've really planned ahead. We're all so proud of you," Miroku told him sarcastically, "I'm even more impressed that you somehow insured that this guy was even going to _come back_."

Inuyasha glared at Miroku, "Of course he's going to come back! He's way too scared of me not to!"

"Your confidence is heart-lifting," Miroku sighed, "Do you even know if this girl is pretty?"

"No, I don't need to. The contract said that somebody needs to fall in love with me- a human girl- and then this stupid curse will be lifted and I will be back to normal," Inuyasha put simply.

"Just how exactly are you going to make her fall in love with you Inuyasha? Hate to bring it up but the curse won't help too much... then again just being you alone still wouldn't help," Sango mentioned.

"Yes, I pity you Inuyasha," Miroku rested a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder, "You have a curse that no man would ever want- human, demon, or hanyou."

"Hey, I don't want it taken off for the reason you would want it taken off- I want it off since it's just plain embarrassing," Inuyasha snorted, flicking Miroku's hand off his shoulder, "I mean, if that psycho wasn't dead two seconds after she cast the spell because of all that bleeding- I would so find her and kick her ass."

"Heh, 1: you know you couldn't 2: you think that's embarrassing?" Sango huffed, "I was the only one in the bunch she didn't consider a girl. That's just mean."

"Well, when is the girl supposed to come?" Miroku asked Inuyasha.

"Now- in two days," Inuyasha held up two of his fingers.

"That's awfully close," Miroku mentioned, "What are we going to do about you?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha growled.

"Well, what's going to happen if you get in a fight with her?" Miroku asked, "You know what that eventually leads to and it's the last thing we need."

"We're just going to improvise okay?" Inuyasha told them, "If I do anything- just knock the shit out of me and cure it. Got it?"

"Yup."

O.o

Kagome woke up very early in the morning. The mountain that her father was going to take her to was a good five miles away, and then the climbing up the mountain was about three hours long, as she understood (with resting and eating). It was a good thing that her father liked to travel a lot. Or else she wouldn't know how long it would take to get there.

She hopped out of bed and slipped on some comfortable clothes: an faux Chinese shirt and pants. Even though they weren't made in China, they were still very comfortable to wear around. Then she put on some boots from Russia. She had not a clue what they were made out of (because her father refused to tell her and assured her she didn't want to know) but they were warm and fuzzy inside- not to mention roomy.

She picked up her pack that she made for herself last night and hurried herself outside to see all of her family waiting for her.

"Ohayou! Sorry I was slow," Kagome smiled.

"There's no rush," her father assured her.

"We just want to see you off," her mother explained.

"Demo," Kagome looked among each other, "Jii-san wa doko da?"

"Grandpa went to get his fortune read," Souta piped, "He always gets his fortune read on Sundays."

"True," Kagome acknowledged, "but I thought he would be here to see us off."

"Don't feel bad, sweetie," her mother comforted her, "You're going to see him tonight aren't you?"

"Yeah, you're right Mama," Kagome nodded.

"Shall we go, Daddy?" Kagome turned to her father who was biting his lower lip... hard. He nodded and replied, "Let's go."

Oo

Kagome squealed in girlish delight when she saw the mountain they were destined to. She turned to her father and exclaimed, "Look, Papa! It's it, isn't it?"

"Yes, Kagome-chan," he confirmed.

Kagome stopped walking when she saw his face. It was almost like he was dreading this. She needed to find out, now.

"Papa?" Kagome got his attention, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Stop lying to me, I'm fifteen! I can take whatever it is, Dad," Kagome assured him.

"I'll tell you later okay?" her father tried to avoid the subject.

"No," she pouted defiantly.

"When we're almost to our destination, I will tell you Kagome," her father ordered, "Come."

Kagome bit her lower lip (a habit she picked up from her father). She didn't like this... she didn't like this at all...

"Alright," she whispered.

O.o

"Ah my friend," greeted an old woman to Jii-san, "Come for your fortune?"

"As always," Jii-san smiled.

"You, of course have your payment," she asked slyly.

"As always," he repeated.

"Then let's not waste time shall we?" the woman invited him into her house. It was a normal looking house- with such-and-such little things she'd picked up over the years.

They walked into a room with a stack of cards, some charts, and other things, all of them western. She sat down by the cards and spread them across a small table, "The Tarot today?"

"What ever you want. I'm not the fortune teller" Jii-san shrugged.

"Alright, the Tarot is a popular game in Italy and France now as you know- but there are rumors saying that a psychic can tell the future and give fortunes from them. The western occults are getting into it as well," the psychic explained, "Since I've only had these for three weeks now- they're fairly new and I'm not positive that the cards are just a jest. Alright?"

"All of this warning Sanbanme-san," Jii-san raised an eyebrow, "What exactly do you sense?"

Sanbanme opened her mouth, but closed it again, "Not until after the tarot."

"Fine," Jii-san nodded.

Sanbanme brushed all of the sprayed cards lightly while asking Jii-san, "What will the subject be this round?"

"My family. My granddaughter and son-in-law are on a day trip and won't be back until late tonight. I want to know how their journey will proceed," Jii-san informed Sanbanme.

"Alright," she mumbled as she focused all of her energy into the cards. She shuffled for a little while, until she finally looked up at Jii-san.

"I will explain the pattern: I will set out seven different cards out. The first describing the past, the second, conflict of the past, the third, the present, the fourth, the conflict of now, the fifth, the outcome, the sixth, the effect, and seventh, the future. Do you understand?" Sanbanme asked.

"Hai," Jii-san nodded.

She put out the cards in an arc shape. She looked Jii-san strait in the eye, "Ikuyo?"

"Ikuyo," Jii-san nodded.

She flipped the first card.

On the card was a woman delicately holding a long wooden stick.

"The Queen of Wands," Sanbanme spoke, "A woman, fondness of nature, is attractive, and is well liked. Your daughter or granddaughter perhaps?"

"That's is definitely Kagome," Jii-san told her, "My granddaughter. The entire trip she's going on now is to see and pick some Yamaibara a five hours walk from here."

"Ah, so desu ka," Sanbanme nodded in acknowledgement, "Sinse this started out with your granddaughter, I'm warning you that it's probably going to end with her."

She flipped the next card, bearing one star shaped drawing.

"This can't be right," she mumbled, "If I'm not mistaken, the ace of pentacles was something about a very good business journey."

"Mental journey or a physical one?" Jii-san asked.

"Either way," Sanbanme mumbled.

"Then that would be Kagome's father. He was always leaving and coming back from places. He traveled a lot," Jii-san waved it off, "Kagome and my grandson always hated it."

"Ah- Ok then," Sanbanme turned over the third card. This one was upside-down. If looked the correct way though- one would see a man dressed in brightly colored clothes.

"The reverse fool," Sanbanme nodded, "Some one recently- or even now- was or is making or has made a very bad choice... he or she is second guessing it now."

"Would it be Kagome?" Jii-san asked.

"I don't know," Sanbanme shrugged, 'The fool can be either male or female. But I can assure you that a member of your family is having a tough time right now."

Jii-san cringed, "Flip the next card."

Sanbanme picked up the card and winced. She set it down face down and instructed, 'No matter what you see on this next card, you are not aloud to touch the cards, or me, or run outside trying in desperation trying to fix what is already destined to come."

She flipped the card over to show a skeleton riding an alive horse. It was suited in armor and carrying a flag.

"What does it mean?" Jii-san asked.

"This is the death card- it means unexpected change, loss, failure, illness, bad luck, and even death," Sanbanme explained.

Jii-san gasped, "Does this mean my granddaughter and son-in-law are doomed?"

"No," Sanbanme corrected him, "The tarot started with your granddaughter- if it meant both of them it would have started with a card that meant unlucky journey- like the two of swords. We must also remember what the tarot said about the past conflict and the present."

"What are you saying?" Jii-san questioned.

"That your granddaughter and son-in-law, made a very large mistake leaving for today. I bet they didn't even check their almanac to see if today the best day to go on a journey. How terribly foolish."

"Do the next card. What will be the effect?" Jii-san ordered.

Sanbanme turned over the next card to show intertwining swords. There were a lot of them and Jii-san didn't bother counting them because Sanbanme was already telling him what it was.

"The ten of swords;" she sighed, "what a pity... this card means sudden misfortune, ruin of plans, defeat, failure, pain and tears."

No," Jii-san stared at the card in wonder, "My granddaughter is going to die?"

"I wouldn't say that my friend," Sanbanme sighed, "but according to the cards so far- there's a very good chance you'll never see your granddaughter again."

"What's the last card? The one saying what the future will hold?" Jii-san hurried her.

"She flipped the card and mumbled, "That's strange."

"Feh," she huffed, "These cards are too bloody confusing. I'm sticking with the charts from now on. None of this stupid nonsense. Higurashi-san, I'm almost positive that your granddaughter is fine. It's just these stupid cards and these stupid confusing meanings."

"You mean that?" Jii-san smiled.

"No," she told him, "I sense something wrong- and it definitely has to do one journey or another- but these cards must be wrong. They've told us that everything is going to turn out horribly, only to give me this Wheel of Fortune card. The inhumanity."

"What does that card stand for?" Jii-san asked, "Just in case it isn't a fraud..."

"Destiny, fortune, a special gain, an unusual loss, end of a problem, unexpected events, advancement, progress," she listed off, "A whole bunch of bull about how everything will be alright. Bah!"

"If you think that the cards were fake then..." Jii-san paused, "Do I have to pay you."

"Of course, you dolt!"

Oo;;

"Today's the day Inuyasha- and it's almost the afternoon," Miroku chanted, "Where is the sap and his daughter?"

"They'll come! They have to!" Inuyasha countered, "He's too much of a chicken to flake out."

"May I suggest you don't say that around the girl when... well... _if_... she comes?" Sango asked testily, "If you called my father a chicken I would be forced to break your neck."

"Yeah, I guess you're the only girl who could, huh?" Inuyasha smirked.

"Shut up," Sango growled.

"You know, one would think that after five years, you'd be over that by now," Inuyasha mused, "I mean, it wasn't like she cursed you or anything."

"It's still embarrassing... why did she do that? Did she just not consider me a girl or something? Why?" Sango stressed.

"Probably because she thought you were the only girl who could kick Inuyasha's butt all over the room so you could have immunity," Miroku suggested.

"Ha! I wish," Sango mumbled.

Miroku and Inuyasha's head snapped up simutaneously. Sango looked between the two in confusion.

"They're here. I smell that old guy and a girl," Inuyasha told them.

"That's not all, I sense a priestess," Miroku added.

Oo

Kagome climbed rigorously up the mountain. She kept giving confused glances to her father. It looked like he was looking for something. Searching...

She tried to ignore it and continue climbing. After a couple of minutes, Kagome heard him say something, "There it is..."

Kagome glanced towards him and then upward to see a path. She furrowed her eyebrows together and asked her father, "Why is there a path there Otou-san? You didn't mention it before…"

Her father remained silent until they reached the path. Once they stepped foot on the path- he collapsed to the ground and started crying. Kagome rushed to his side and tried to help him up. Kagome winced at the amount of tears he was shedding. All her life she had never seen him cry- this was so weird.

"Kagome-chan... yurushite kudasai..." her father whispered.

"What? Why?" Kagome asked desperately, "What should I forgive you for?"

"For what I have done. For what I have bargained. For whom you now will stay with," her father told her through the tears.

"Wakakkunai," Kagome told him, "Explain this."

"I do love you Kagome, but what I have done is sinful and selfish, I'm so sorry," her father apologized.

"For what? What did you do?" Kagome was trying to comprehend her hysterical father.

"My gods, you didn't even tell the girl?" Kagome heard a cold voice behind her and that scared her, "Now that's cruel."

She turned around slowly to see a demon. She gasped and fell on her bottom. She scooted back in fear.

"Inuyasha!" shouted another voice from behind him. The demon testily turned around and shouted, "What?"

"You jerk! You didn't wait for us!" a girl and a monk pulled beside the demon. They both hit him on the head in unison and the girl also mentioned, "And you're scaring the poor girl."

"Who are you?" Kagome asked.

"By Buddha, she is actually pretty! What good fortune!" the monk exclaimed as he examined her.

"Don't get any ideas Miroku. Remember _our_ contract," the woman warned him. She turned to Kagome, "Hajimemashite. My name is Tsuyoimi, Sango."

"Hello, but I don't understand. It's nice to meet you, but why are you here and why is Papa hysterical?" Kagome asked glancing over at her father who was looking at Miroku and Sango with relief.

"Excuse me sir- we'll take it from here," Miroku smiled to Kagome's father, "She'll be in good hands."

"Sooo..." the demon apparently named Inuyasha droned out, "Bye, bye."

"What?" Kagome turned to the demon in a flash, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look here- I'm going to say this simply: Daddy traded you for his life," Inuyasha told her slowly while pointing to both her father and herself.

"Daddy?" Kagome approached him and got on her knees, "Is this true?"

"No! I refused at first but he assured me you would have a very good life," her father assured her.

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha who was looking away from the entire conversation nonchalantly as Miroku and Sango glared him down mumbling something along the lines of, "Good life?"

Kagome turned back, "And if you said no he would have killed you and then you never would have come home?"

"Yes," her father nodded.

"Then... I'm happy that you did that Daddy," Kagome admitted.

There was a silence from the group. Inuyasha finally spoke up, "I'm sorry- what?"

"I'm happy that he traded me instead," Kagome told him irritably, "He was in China for a month and then goes looking for a present for me because he couldn't find a silly Chinese rose. If he hadn't traded for me then my family and I would be waiting at home, worrying sick about my father until we finally assume he got killed in China for reasons we do not know. Do you know how traumatizing that would be?"

"She's definitely got a point," Sango nodded her head, "Then again living with Inuyasha's "problem" and Miroku's "different problem" is also a little traumatizing."

"So..." her father whispered, "You aren't mad at me?"

"No, I would be mad if you would allow him to kill you just so I wouldn't have to leave home," Kagome informed him.

"I see," her father smiled weakly, "Thank you Kagome-chan."

Kagome frowned, "Good bye tou-chan."

Her father got up. He had tears stains on his face but he didn't seem to mind. He turned around and sighed, "Good bye Kagome-san."

"Hold on a sec, Pops," Inuyasha grabbed onto his shoulder, 'What exactly are you going to tell your family when they notice that the girl isn't with you?"

"That she died," her father replied simply.

"By..." Inuyasha urged him on.

"I don't know- demons?" her father shrugged.

"That won't do!" Miroku called, "Then your entire town will come to this forest to find and kill any demons living here."

"Wolves?" her father suggested next.

"Much better," Miroku nodded, "Wolves are a little too over populated to cause a scourge of people to come here to kill them off…"

"I need to go now," Higurashi-san sighed.

Inuyasha watched as he climbed down the hill. He smirked to himself and then looked down at the girl. She was still crouched down on the ground where her father was. She was looking at little wet marks on the path... from her father's tears.

O.o

Ok, this isn't quite twice as long as my last chapter so I' adding some question-answer things in that you should seriously consider- keeping in mind that I'm steering away from the cliché Beauty and the Beast©.

1: What the hell are these people talking about? What are these contract thingies they keep mentioning? (That was two but oh well) (I can't tell you that too)

2: Why is Sango whining about how she isn't considered a girl? (I can't tell you that also)

3: Is Inuyasha a full demon? (No, Higurashi-san just can't tell the difference)

4: We've seen Sango and Miroku in this fic- where's Shippo? (He won't appear in the fic until later)

That's enough for the story questions. Now for the format and personal questions to me (which is like 2)

5: Why the heck did you write the word "Chapter" in _French_? (Even though this fic takes place in Japan. I have to honor the fact that the original Beauty and the Beast took place in France. Since all the France I can add in there are the tarot cards- you'll have to live with _Chapitre_ for a while.

6: Have you even finished any of your other fics? (Shut up.)

Ok! Now for the answer to all of your peoples reviews!

Dragon-neko383: To quote Bender from Futurama: Kiss my shiny metal ass!

Pobbin: Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh... yeah. Well, I answered your question on my little question-answer thingy. Are you going to ramble on this fic too? I would really like that! Also- may I add that I really like your fic? I really hope you continue it so I may ramble! (I hope you like that!) One last thing- I read your profile and learned that you don't like it when people just put numbers in there story instead of writing them out, so I took the time to write out the tarot card numbers (Like the ten of swords). That was just for you!

What a scene: I answered your question on the question-answer thingy. Thanks! It isn't exactly original (well... not yet anyway) but your encouragement is heart warming!

Possum girl: Thanks a bunch!

O-chan-otaku: You know- right after I read your review and pictured Beast doing that I started to crack up too. I'm happy to hear that this is so far the best Beauty and Beast fanfics ever. I hope you continue to believe so. Thank you for the review!

Demonickitten: Thanks for the review! Don't worry about not reviewing my last stories. Just you reviewing this one time let's me know you're still reading them (and enjoying them hopefully)

Contessa: Thank you.


	3. Ano Shiro

Yayness! People actually answered my questions! So… I'm going to translate everything! But since there is some controversy between my reviewers who say that I should put the translations at the bottom or by the translation and I have no opinion on the matter. I have decided to do neither. Instead, I shall translate everything before the chapter starts.

Kirei na: Beautiful…

Houshi (-sama): Monk

Hontou desu ka: Are you sure?

Hai: yes

Oto-san: Father

Okaa-san: Mother

Jii-san: Grampa

Sumimasen: Excuse (pardon) me

Obi: Very long and wide sash used to keep a kimono together

**Yamaibara** (Mountain rose)

Chapitre 3

Ano Shiro (The Castle)

By, Auroras-flame

"So, this will be your room," Sango told Kagome as she opened a door leading into a large room. It wasn't friendly looking because there was dust on most of the side tables and windows. But the bed was big and red and intricately decorated. The mat was neatly placed on the center of the floor and there were two covers for the bed itself. There was a small book shelf in one corner of the room that was also in need of some dusting.

"It's a little dirty," Sango mentioned, "But we hope you like it anyway. We gave you this room in particular because it overlooks the garden."

Kagome looked up to Sango, "What garden?"

"You weren't paying attention?" Sango mused, "We passed right by it when we were escorting you into the palace."

"Oh," Kagome mumbled. She sort of had her mind on something else…

"Well, come and look at it…" Sango paused, 'Actually, on second thought, let me get a handkerchief or something to wipe off the grime."

Kagome raised her eyebrows and bit her lower lip. This was a little too new for her- not to mention sudden.

Sango left the room for about a second and came back with a blue hankie. She approached the window and spat on it. She used her hankie to wipe of dust and dirt and spit while mentioning, "You know- we're lucky to have windows with glass. We're one of the very few castles/shrines that do. It's a western thing that really seems like a waste of handkerchiefs, but-"

Kagome stopped paying attention as she too approached the window. She smiled when she saw the garden. It was filled with roses. She saw now that it was left of the path they took and she _should_ have seen it, but seeing it now was nice. As she looked at the roses- she noted how it was more like an invasion than a garden. It was just on gigantic patch of Yamaibara. Some were growing from in the ground, some were blocking the way of once used paths- there was a dried up rock fountain in the middle of the garden. It was now cracked an inhabited by Yamaibara. Some stone lamps in the garden were in the same predicament.

"Kirei na," Kagome admired it.

"Mmm… I think it gives off to much of this "dead palace" thing. It looks too innocent," Sango mentioned.

"Well, isn't it?" Kagome questioned, "How can a rose not me innocent?"

"In many ways," Sango told her quietly.

Kagome examined Sango. She was gazing at the garden looking almost a little annoyed by it. As if it had offended her.

"Well," Sango broke the gaze between her and the garden, "I should show you where everything is or at least map it off for you or something."

Kagome smiled weakly. At least she was making friends at a quick pace.

"You know- you don't have to carry that pack around everywhere. Just leave it in your room. Nobody will touch it," Sango assured her.

"Oh," Kagome shed her bag and put it softly on her new bed. She went off with Sango to discover what else lied in this palace.

As they walked Sango informed her, "You're the first girl I've seen in a while you know."

"You mean that you're the only girl living here? Aren't there others than the ones that greeted me outside the palace?" Kagome questioned.

"No, we're the only ones. Every month a group of people come up here to sell us food, but there aren't any women with them," Sango told her, "You're the first woman I have seen in five years."

"You've been here that long?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah, ever since I was 14 and sent here from the palace," Sango sighed.

"There's another palace?" Kagome asked confused.

Sango stopped and clearly lied, "No."

Kagome didn't believe her but remained quiet.

"So, how are my favorite two ladies?" came a voice from behind them.

Kagome and Sango turned around to see Miroku smiling.

"Are you really so bored that you have to bug us?" Sango asked.

"No, I just want to learn all about our newest member!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Right, of course you do Miroku," Sango nodded sarcastically.

"You see Kagome- the thing you have to worry about with Sango is her temper. If you tick her off she goes off the walls and tries to kill you," Miroku informed Kagome.

"That's just with you and Inuyasha and you know it!" Sango cried.

"I think she's sexist," Miroku added.

"Gaaaahhhh!" Sango cried.

"Uh-oh, better restrain her," Miroku mentioned. He quickly managed to get around Sango and grab her tightly around her chest- restraining her arms and torso.

"Let go Miroku! I'm not going to kill yo- DAMN YOU!" Sango flipped her legs over as kicked Miroku in the face. Kagome didn't understand at first until she saw Miroku's hand sneak its way to her breast.

Miroku let her go from reflex, but recovered quickly by noting, "Nuh- uh- uh, Sango. Not in front of the children," Miroku gestured to a silent Kagome.

"What do you mean "children!" She's only four years younger than us!" Sango exclaimed.

Miroku wasn't paying attention because he was already focused on Kagome, "So, hoe do you like your room? Well… more like the view."

"Are you listening to me houshi!" Sango demanded.

"I think it's a very beautiful view. The roses seem to be the only thing that grows in this place," Kagome mentioned, "Even though I've seen all the Yamaibara you have- I do not see one blade of grass. Not to mention that all of the trees are dead."

"You noticed that did you? I see you keep an eye out for all wildlife, don't you?" Miroku winced a little.

Kagome didn't reply. She was just a prisoner of this palace- she really didn't care that it didn't have any wildlife- she just wanted to leave.

"Kagome?" Sango got worried when Kagome didn't say anything.

"Hm?" Kagome mumbled inquisitively.

"Are you Ok Kagome?" Sango asked, "I can understand if you want to stay in your room."

"I'm Ok," Kagome lied, but she really didn't want to be left alone- not yet.

"Hontou desu ka?" Sango questioned.

"Yeah," Kagome confirmed.

"Ok…" Sango murmured.

"Believe us when we say that we're sorry for your loss, but know that Inuyasha would not have done such a thing without reason," Miroku assured her.

"Which would be…?" Kagome urged him.

Both he and Sango gave a small pause. Miroku broke the silence and answered unsurely, "It's a secret?"

Kagome wasn't sure how to reply to that, so she didn't.

"Speaking of which- where is Inuyasha?" Sango wanted to know.

"He's checking it over," Miroku told her.

"Again? My gods; you'd think that after five years he'd have memorized the bloody thing by now," Sango snorted, "Is he afraid of any other fine print?"

Kagome drowned out the rest of the conversation. She saw another of those windows- she could see the vague trace of sunlight leaking through the dust and dirt. She supposed that five years without a cleaning could do that to a place.

She glanced over to Sango and Miroku who were talking about something like legal documents or something. They were apparently engrossed in their conversation. Kagome glanced around. To the back of her there were a set of stairs leading upwards- and in front of her there were a set of stairs leading downwards. If she wanted to escape, she should rush for the downstairs- but that would be foolish. The demon would catch her in no time flat. At least she could sneak away from Sango and Miroku and check out the rest of the palace.

She took a back step. Sango and Miroku didn't notice. She took another one and they still didn't notice. She started walking backwards slowly making sure that they didn't catch her trying to run away from them.

After so much back-stepping; she felt her heel hit the first stair. She took a step up. She started to climb the stairs backwards. After she could no longer see Miroku and Sango, she turned around and started to ascend the stairs properly.

She got to the next floor and started to search for the next set of stairs. Surely this place was more than three stories. She actually wouldn't be shocked to find this place had five floors.

She searched for a little while. Finally- in a corner which should have been right above her own room a floor down- there were a steep set of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs there were some very dusty slippers. Kagome examined the slippers- they were a dull royal purple color; but she was sure that was from all the dust that collected on them- it looked like they hadn't been used for years. At the bottom of the stair case; they looked almost… discarded. As if they were trash.

Kagome looked up at the stairs. They were made of some sort of precious wood. Shoes- and possibly even house slippers- wouldn't be aloud to step on it. That would explain why the slippers were put in such a random place.

Kagome removed her boots. She hadn't been given any slippers of any sort and everybody else just walked in with their shoes on so she didn't bother to take off her own.

She stepped on the wooden stairs and bit her lip. It felt like she was defiling something important- like stepping into a mini-shrine that people put in rooms of their houses.

She urged herself to continue climbing. The stair case stopped only to continue in another angle. She was about to climb it, but an all too familiar demon was in her way. She jumped once she noticed him.

He tilted his head and smirked, "Going somewhere?"

"I was," Kagome admitted.

"Why isn't Sango or Miroku with you?" he asked accusingly.

"I sneaked away," she mumbled. What was the point of lying to him now?

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and pointed a nagging finger, "Don't tell me you were planning of running away. You haven't even been here for three hours."

"I wasn't planning on running away," Kagome told him with a hint of irritation in her voice, "I was climbing _upstairs_."

"Yeah, I was sort of wondering that," Inuyasha mentioned, "but I don't know how stupid you were so I asked anyway."

Kagome glared at him against her better judgment.

"Look here girl: There are four levels to this palace. You are only aloud access on three of them," Inuyasha instructed her, "You are not aloud up there, Ok?"

He stood up and took a step towards her. Kagome didn't move- unsure of what she was supposed to do.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Inuyasha asked irritably, "Go down stairs."

Kagome quickly did as he instructed. She climbed down the stairs. Once she was at the bottom, she stopped- leaving Inuyasha on the staircase.

"What's the hold up?" Inuyasha wanted to know.

Kagome side stepped so Inuyasha could get pass, but she remained still. She was staring at those slippers again.

"What? Aren't you going to pick up your shoes or what?" Inuyasha asked.

"Whose shoes are those?" she asked without thinking.

Inuyasha didn't answer very quickly, but he finally said, "Someone who no longer is here."

Kagome didn't say anything. It was like everything was a big secret- or at least a lot of little secrets that were connected somehow.

"Let's go back to Sango and Miroku," Inuyasha commanded more than suggested, "I'm sure they're having a hernia right now if they've discovered you're gone."

Inuyasha started to walk in a certain direction. Kagome knew she was supposed to follow him, so she rushed to catch up to him, in the process, forgetting to pick up her own shoes.

Oo

Souta skipped up the stairs of the shrine. He had spent the entire day in the village playing with all the other village boys. He would have stayed there longer, but his mother told him that he should be there to welcome his father and sister home. He stayed at the village a little longer than his order to come home, so he was a little worried that Kagome and his father were already there.

He reached the top to see the last thing he expected. Outside the shrine house and their home, was his mother crying on the ground hysterically, his grandfather pale and mumbling about something that he couldn't hear and his father trying to comfort his family with his pack still on his back.

Souta didn't quite understand. Where was Kagome?

"Souta…" Oto-san said quietly when he noticed Souta, "I have bad news."

He heard his mother give out a loud sob when he spoke. He noticed how Oto-san bit his lower lip and patted Okaa-san lightly on the back.

"What… what is it?" Souta glanced between each of his family members.

"Umm… I'm not sure how I should phrase this, so I will tell you strait out," Oto-san sighed, "Your sister is dead Souta."

Souta stood still and didn't say a word. He didn't quite comprehend this. He knew perfectly well what death was but… he saw her healthy and perky just this morning… it just didn't seem like she was dead… not yet anyway.

"But… how?" Souta asked.

"She was killed by wolves," Oto-san murmured, "Undoubtedly a traveling pack- the forest was totally dead- I guess Kagome and I were the first meat they'd seen in days."

Souta saw his father wince with every word. He questioned, "Then… how did you escape and Kagome was the only one eaten?"

"We were running, and in the panic- we lost each other. I searched for her for a couple of hours… only to find her…" Oto-san stopped.

Souta pictured a most gory thought of his sister torn up and bloody. It made him sick to his stomach.

"Could they have been demon wolves?" Jii-san finally spoke up.

"Uhh… I wouldn't know," Souta saw a bead of sweat slide down his father's forehead, "They went after Kagome, not me."

'Demons…' Souta thought, 'Wolves… why didn't Oto-san find any and kill them? Why didn't he avenge the death of Kagome?'

He didn't voice his words. He just mumbled, "Oh."

"Are you Ok Souta?" Okaa-san asked through her crying.

Souta paused and wrinkled his nose, "Hai. Sumimasen."

He walked by his family and approached his house. He quickly slipped out of his shoes and walked into the house. It felt empty… well… it _was _empty, but- it just gave off this aura… it was kind of like when you're in a crowd and didn't know anybody. You consider yourself alone, even though there are many people surrounding you.

He huffed and ignored the feeling. He walked to his room and slid his screen shut. He sat on his mat-bed and sighed.

It seemed like some lie. He wasn't calling his father a liar- but he guessed unless someone witnessed a death themselves, the news of a death didn't quite sink in for a while… maybe it was just him.

He glanced around his ever-so-slightly messy room. His Chinese martial artists dressings were on the tatami floor set out so he could see what the costume looked like all together. He winced, remembering how Kagome went off in her Chinese- well… Chinese-styled dressings. That picture of his sister torn up and bloody popped up in his mind again, and had to look away from the uniform.

Wolves… how could Kagome and Oto-san be scared off by a couple of wolves? It couldn't have been more than three, or they would have surely split up as half chased after Oto-san and the other half chased after Kagome. They had weapons too… true they were greenery scissors for the roses, but they could make adequate daggers.

The entire story was bothering him. Everything seemed wrong.

He wrinkled his nose- it had to be night now. He was getting hungry and since Okaa-san was to busy mourning, she hadn't even started dinner yet.

Souta decided to get up and see if anybody was in the house yet. He opened his screen and looked around. No sign of his parents.

He walked into the dining room. The table wasn't even set… then something caught his eye… a pair of greenery scissors… Oto-san's to be exact. At first he figured he came in and took out the greenery scissors and just placed them there, but then he remembered the pack was still on his father's back- why would Oto-san just take out his greenery scissors and leave his pack on? Unless he didn't bring them…

No, that was impossible- Oto-san traveled constantly; he wouldn't forget such an important article for their trip. Did he intentionally leave them there? Now Souta was confused.

Souta walked out of the dining room and back into his room. He had enough. He had only been here thirty minutes, and he had had enough. There was something going on, and he wanted to know.

He got into his room and went immediately to his closet and grabbed the biggest piece of cloth he could find- coincidentally, that was his sister's obi he secretly stole after she broke two of his tops and confiscated his stilts three months ago.

He started to stuff his stuff in the long center of the obi. He packed some small paper-wrapped snacks that he hid in his room, two lucky Shinto shrine charms- one could never be too careful-, a carefully graphed map of Japan that his father brought him back from one of his shorter trips, and his Chinese martial artist outfit. Even though he knew it was foolish to bring such an item when he was running away, he wanted it because other than the common outfit he was wearing now, this was the only other outfit he owned that didn't give away that he was from a shrine or an extremely wealthy household.

Souta wrapped the obi up like a bun and carefully folded in the edges. It wasn't the best packing job, but who was going to criticize him?

He peaked his head outside his room and saw nobody. He figured he should use the back entrance, since he was sure that his parents and Jii-san were still out there. He went to the back of the house and exited his home. He grinded his teeth together knowing what he would have to do next. He couldn't just runaway- not yet- he needed…

He went into a small foresty area as a cover as he went around his parents and by a special mini shrine. He approached the mini shrine directly, and prayed to all of the Kami that they would not punish him for what he was about to do. But he really needed this…

He went inside the building where the minishrine was located. He stepped into the mini shrine and started to collect all of the offerings of coins. This was such a sin and he was positive that he would be disowned from this family, but he needed to know what happened to his sister.

He had scraped up a fair amount of money and pocketed it. He really needed this incase there were wolves up there and needed to purchase weapons.

He stepped out of the minishrine and prayed for forgiveness. He needed to go now… before his family noticed he was gone…

O.O

Kagome yawned and rubbed her eye. Her first day was done. After Inuyasha caught her and tried to bring her to Miroku and Sango- they were flipping out. It took Inuyasha 20 minutes just to find them. Sango was searching the woods every which way, and Miroku was searching the palace trying to rely on his panicking senses.

They didn't scold her when they found out she just wandered up stairs. In fact, they seemed relieved. Sure there were a few, 'I had a heart attack,'s and, 'Don't scare us like that again,'s but other than that, they were just happy she was still there.

In fact, the most scolding that occurred was from Inuyasha telling Sango and Miroku that they weren't observant, and they should have seen Kagome randomly walking upstairs.

Kagome sighed and got into her bed, this entire thing was confusing. She really wanted to know what they wanted with her… but- for now, she was just going to sleep in her comfy new bed.

'I wonder how my family's doing…'

Oo

Pobbin: I feel so loved! Your dedicating your chapter to me? How sweet, I need to dedicate a chapter to you sometime… Next- oohhhhhh…. So _that's_ what you meant… yeah, I get tired of the l8ers and the 2days also. I would say that annoys everybody, but that would be lying because all of the people I IM do it. I'm happy you liked all my other fics. I really need to update them! I'm almost done with the next Alternate Universes chapter. I think I'm going to make a pattern of three chapters for each story at a time and then moving to a different story and doing three chapters for it. Thank you for your long review and yeah- I know Drago-neko383 (AKA: Psycho) personally in real life, so I can say that to her- even though I don't always mean it. I want to know about your curse idea. I like hearing what people think the curse is for the story- it lets me know if I'm leading you on correctly (Okkaaayyy… bad choice of words…) I love all of your long reviews! Just like you appreciate the time and effort I'm putting into this fic, I appreciate how much time and effort you put into your review. It's most rewarding!

Possum Girl: Well, I'm pretty sure you already know what Miroku's "problem" is? Heh… heh…

Psycho: AAAARRRRGGGG! Run for the hills everyone! Psycho made a review which wasn't sarcastic or negative in any shape or form! It's the sign of the apocalypse I tell ya! Run for the bomb shelter THE ARMAGEDDON IS COMING! (By the way… thanks for the review!)

Demonickitten: Sorry I didn't update soon- school and all… very stressful.

Contessa: Done and done!

A-chan-otaku: Your right, what Beauty and the Beast doesn't have angst? Even Disney's did! So, yes, you're right- there will be angst and other bad stuff too. I usually like to add a little angst in all my stories. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you do so again.


	4. Nikui masu

Ah! Back to good Yamaibara. I left this fic reluctantly last tie because I knew I had to update my other fics. I so sorry!

Sugoi: Neat, cool

Aso: I see

Sumimasen: Excuse me; Sorry

**Yamaibara**

Chapitre 4

Nikui masu (Awkward)

By, Auroras-flame

Souta felt like he had been traveling forever. It was late night and still no sign of that mountain. He stopped and wondered if he was even going to right way. He looked around himself and a light area caught his eye. He squinted into the night and nearly jumped from happiness, there was a town! That meant there were food, water, and inns nearby.

He used the rest of his energy to run towards the village. He could go after Kagome and the dead mountain tomorrow, with all of his energy restored.

In about ten minutes he reached the village and not to soon either. He was out of breath and parched. He entered the closest public building he could find. There was a little girl at the counter. She seemed pretty tired; a part of her dark hair was tied into a side ponytail.

She glanced at him and immediately perked up, "Welcome to Yamaguchi Inn! May I help you?"

"Rin," a voice scolded her from behind Souta. He turned around to see a greasy looking man, "Don't sell our rooms to the poor."

Souta resisted the urge to sneer, "I have money."

"Oh really?" the man sounded skeptical, "How much? 25 yen? Or maybe 50 yen?"

Souta whipped out two 500 yen pieces and told him boldly, "I want a room."

"This way please," the little girl, Rin, chimed as she bounced out of her seat. She took his hand and led him through the inn. Whether from Rin holding his hand or him running, his face was definitely flushed by the time he reached his room.

"Here you are!" Rin told him cheerfully. She noticed something in his pack and then chirped, "Sugoi! Have you been to China?! I always wanted to go!"

Souta glanced down at his pack which was still open after taking out his two bits of a small fortune. His Chinese fighting uniform was peaking out.

"Uh um, well," Souta was about to say 'no', but Rin continued, "You're so lucky! I wish I could go!"

Souta smiled weakly at the energetic girl and tried to drive the conversation away from his uniform, "So… uh… Was that your father?"

"Who? Yamaguchi? No! Ewww, he's mean," Rin pouted, "I just need a job."

Souta laughed, "Aso. Were you born here?"

"Yeah," Rin nodded, "But my mommy died two years ago and I never knew my father. That's why I learned what coins were which and how to count and do math and become a worker at this inn. Yamaguchi wouldn't let me but his wife made him."

Souta was a little confused why this girl was introducing her life story to him, but she seemed so willing…

"Where did you come from?" Rin asked.

"Oh, well, I travel around," Souta lied.

"Really?" Rin stopped sounding eager and more now interested, "That's nice. I haven't been anywhere except this town. I suppose that's why I became a worker at an inn. I always like meeting people from other places. You're the first kid I've seen here ever though," Rin admitted, "It feels so great to talk someone my own age."

Souta frowned, "Well, I'm sorry, but I have to leave in the morning."

Rin lost her cheerful and looked down at the ground, "Oh, really?"

"I'm sorry, but I really need to do something," Souta tried to explain.

"Really, what?" Rin sounded curious.

"Well, my sister died and…" Souta told her before she cut in.

"Sumimasen! Sumimasen! I didn't want to bring up such a terrible subject. Oh goodness, well, may I ask when it happened?" Rin clasped her hands by her mouth.

"Earlier today," Souta grunted, "She died being eaten by wolves on a dead mountain in search of Yamaibara."

"Ah, no, that couldn't be," Rin shook her head.

"Hm?" Souta was now engrossed in whatever she had to say. Any information would be useful, "Why not."

"The dead mountain isn't even a mile away. I remember when I was five and my mommy was still alive and we'd go near the base of the mountain. It was fertile and everything lived. The Yamaibara were scarce because it only grew in random places and whenever it was found by a merchant, the entire bush was taken. Then it became forbidden to take Yamaibara from the mountain when a lord took over the mountain and built a big castle there. But about five or six years ago, the entire mountain died and the castle forbid anyone even go near the mountain. All of the wildlife moved away or died, the wolves in particular are a couple miles away from the dead mountain. They'd never go near the mountain, not even when traveling; it would b stupid to bother to go strait up a waterless foodless land. So, not only were your father and sister breaking the law, it is also impossible," Rin summed up.

Souta could have kissed Rin right then if he hadn't any dignity. Instead he smiled gratefully and mentioned, "You have no idea how much this helps me."

"Huh? Why?" Rin questioned.

Souta yawned, "If you're awake by the morning I'll tell you."

"It is morning," Rin whined.

"What?!" Souta sat up and looked outside. Green light flooded the room. The sun was coming up. Ah, crud.

Oo

Kagome rubbed her eyes and arose from her bed. Sango had provided her with a nightgown and several pairs of clothes.

She slipped on a white and green cotton kimono. It was very comfortable. She took a comb from her new dresser and sat in a chair placed by the window which oversaw the Yamaibara. Red caught her eye and she spotted Inuyasha practicing with a sword of some type.

Kagome, curious, snuck out of her room and down the set of stairs down to the first story. She found the door that led outside and peeked through it timidly and watched Inuyasha practice with a large sword.

He obviously felt her presence because he turned towards the door and shouted, "Stop spyin' on me!!!"

Kagome's nose twitched from annoyance. She stood away from the door, folded her arms, and glared at him.

"Now what'd I do?" Inuyasha scoffed, "Or are you still mad about that 'stupid' comment yesterday? Gods, you women hold grudges."

Kagome glared harder, "No, I'm over that. I must admit I'm a little madder about the fact you threatened my father just so you could bring me hear for seemingly no reason at all. Or did you and fate plan on making the rest of my life miserable?"

"Oh, that," Inuyasha grunted, "I don't know why your mad at me. If your precious daddy loved you so much he wouldn't have given you over would he?"

"Shut up jerk!" Kagome yelled, "I hate you!" Kagome stormed off into the castle and slammed the door behind her. Inuyasha winced, but only from the sound of the slamming door.

Kagome rushed up to her room, passing Sango making some mention to breakfast and then asking what was wrong.

Kagome just ignored her though. It was rude, but she was mad! Why did this happen to her?

Oo

"Shut up Jerk!" Kagome screamed Kagome, "I hate you!" Kagome stormed into the castle leaving Inuyasha outside.

"Wow, hate," Miroku commented from behind a tree he was resting against, "What an astounding step forward. I think she previously loathed you with a passion never felt by man before. Good job. Now let's push her down sets of shrine steps and pour lemon juice on her cuts."

"Shut up!" Inuyasha shot at him, "I don't feel the need to deal with whiney wenches."

"With that charming attitude, it's no wonder se loves you so much," Miroku chuckled.

"Hey, the contract didn't specifically say that she had to fall in love with me," Inuyasha pointed out, "'For maiden will be eternally grateful for the justices that you have done and reward ye' doesn't mean love."

Miroku rolled his eyes, "Of course Inuyasha. But just in case," Miroku stood up from his resting position and faced Inuyasha, "try to be kind to her. You of all people should know how it feels to be eternally deprived by the ones you love."

Inuyasha shot Miroku a nasty glare and sniffed, "Don't compare me to her."

"No, never. But you should still try not to annoy her if anything, because I don't plan on having to protect anybody within the next couple weeks at least," Miroku informed him, "I'm sure you don't want me to either."

"No," Inuyasha sighed.

"Good."

Oo

"Not good! Not good! Not good!" Shippo wailed as he dashed deeper into the woods. The patters of paws were strait behind him and they had his scent…

Shippo smelled a pond nearby. He rushed towards the scent. He arrived at a river and turned around momentarily. Angry jaws snapped at his direction and he hopped into the water and started to swim. He dunked himself a few times in the water before reaching the other side of the river. He didn't bother to shake the water off him because his predators were already half way through the river. He dashed through many a wood and then tripped suddenly. He fell down a steep mountain hitting brush and trees. Using some power, he transformed into a big pink bubble. He started to float over the wolf infested mountain.

He saw three wolf demons and about five man-eating wolves watch him in the air and either growl or curse at him.

"Heh, heh, heh," Shippo smirked. Couldn't reach him from up here could they? Haha, stupid non-transforming wolves. It was clear who the superior species was.

Shippo spotted an out-of-place mountain in the distance. It was brown and dead. Nothing would live there. He'd stay there for the night, and maybe the next day, until the wolves were off his trail.

He glanced back at them. They did not look pleased.

Oo

"What happened to Kagome?" Sango asked Miroku drearily during breakfast. She threw a rice ball into her mouth and un-lady-likely mumbled through her food, "Sshe seened pheddy hissd ahhf."

"She was really _pissed off_," Miroku chuckled at the type of dialect Sango chose when she was tired, "and may I add how beautiful you look this morning? Tell me: what exactly does your hair taste like?"

Sango stopped eating and pulled a lock of hair that got caught in the rice ball in her mouth. Sango sneered at her own untidiness and moaned, "Ewwww…"

Miroku laughed. Sango never was the morning type. Miroku handed her a cup of tea and assured her, "Here, the tea will wake you up."

"Sure, thanks," Sango took a sip, only to spit it out. She wiped her mouth and looked down at the light brown liquid.

"Dear gods Miroku, you poisoned me!" Sango gagged.

"Hey, no one in this house likes English tea," Miroku pointed out, "and it did wake you up. Better that it didn't go to waste."

"Stupid salesmen," Sango grumbled, "Selling us that poison."

"So, do you want to hear about Kagome?" Miroku tried to spark her interest.

Sango leaned forward and nodded her head and guessed, 'It was Inuyasha wasn't it?"

"No, it was a squirrel," Miroku told her sarcastically.

"He insulted her and her father?" Sango continued to guess.

Miroku sat up and pouted, "Why should I even bother? You already know the entire story."

Sango sighed, "So what are we going to do now to pass the time by?"

"How about we scheme?"

"Excellent idea, I'll go get Inuyasha."

Oo

It was night now and Kagome was unbelievably hungry. She had stayed in her room all day and she was too afraid to go downstairs and eat after she shunned breakfast with Sango. That was so rude and she regretted it now…

Her stomach let out a loud growl. She blushed and put her hands on it hoping that it would quiet it down.

She glared at her stomach. It mocked her and her high-brought up life with three meals-a-day routines and two tea times. Maybe she could die of starvation and not worry about anything ever again.

She shook the thought from her head. Suicide from starvation was not only painful, but unproductive. She intended to see her father and family again. No matter what Mr. Fuzz Ears said.

She heard a knock on her door and a harsh voice call into her room, "Hey! Do you feel like eating or what?"

Kagome turned her glaring eyes away from her stomach from the door and suddenly forgot her hunger, "No."

Apparently, her stomach had not forgotten her hunger because it let out the loudest sound a stomach could ever make. She hit her stomach despite of herself (and it hurt too). The stupid stomach wasn't making her rebellion look good.

"What? Are you killing a bear in there or something?" Inuyasha opened the door and invited himself in.

Kagome scolded him, "Hey! How dare you walk into a woman's room? What if I wasn't decent?!"

"Like there'd be anything to see," Inuyasha scoffed.

Kagome grabbed the nearest thing near her and threw it at him. Inuyasha side stepped the pillow and smirked, "Ok, let's eat wench. I'm sure we'd all be saddened if you became anorexic."

Kagome threw another pillow at him. He just hit it away before it could touch his face.

Kagome buried her face in what was left of her pillows, "I'm not going."

"Oh come on," Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "I don't really care but I don't want to clean up a starved corpse from my castle a couple days from now."

"I'll eat tomorrow," Kagome told him, "maybe. Just… could you tell Sango and Miroku I'm sorry? I didn't mean to be so rude to Sango this morning and I'm just not in the mood for food right now."

Inuyasha sighed and shrugged, "Sure. I'll tell them."

He turned around to leave but paused when Kagome called, "Wait! One last thing…"

Inuyasha turned around to ask 'yeah?' but before he could a pillow hit him squarely in the face.

"You can go now," Kagome told him.

Oo

Despite himself, Souta spent a couple of days in the village by the dead mountain he was supposed to climb. Rin was guiding him all over the town; whether to the best toy store in town or to the best restaurant she made sure to show him _everything._

"Do you like it hear Souta?" Rin asked in a diner booth at probably the cheapest place in town, but Rin assured Souta that it had the best tasting food.

"Uh, yeah," Souta nodded. To tell the truth, Souta felt quite awkward spending so much time with a girl. She was an ok person, but it was still an odd feeling…

"Oh," Rin sounded disappointed which surprised him. She mentioned, "So, when are you going to climb up the mountain to find your sister? Kagome right?"

Souta had told Rin about Kagome the day before. She seemed fascinated by the story. Souta could tell she was very curious about what really had happened because she kept on making guesses on what might have happened. They seemed to get stranger as time went on though… at one point in her hypothesis making; Kagome had gotten abducted by a telepathic moose and platypus.

"I was hoping to go soon, maybe today even…" Souta admitted.

"Really?" Rin asked eyes sparkling with excitement, "Can I come with you?"

Souta was taken back by the question. She was joking right?

"Well… uh… well…" Souta couldn't form any words.

"Please Souta, I really want to go,' Rin begged, "I hate this town. I hate my job. I hate my current life. I'm tired of being alone with so many people around me."

"Huh?" Souta was confused…

"Please can I go find your sister with you?" Rin folded her hands and gave him a puppy dog look, "Please?"

Souta wasn't sure what he should say. This was such an awkward position for him… Well… he couldn't exactly stop her, and it would be cruel if he didn't after she begged him so much…

"I can't stop you…" Souta stammered out.

"Yay!" Rin cheered, "Let's go now!"

She grabbed his wrist and yanked him out of the diner. Souta stuttered out another protest, "But they're in the middle of making our food and we haven't paid them…"

Oo

Poor Souta… In case anyone was confused, I skipped a day between the pillow incident and Souta's awkwardness. (So in other words, it was Souta's second day in Rin's village and Kagome's third day by that time) Okay then, time for responses to reviews:

Possum Girl: Thanks a bunch!

Psycho: Yeah, I looked back on it and physically hit myself… I hope this one is a little better… (Spelling wise) A for grammar, did you mean the things people were saying or the story explanations? Because if it was just people talking than that was probably on purpose. Sorry about the beta thing, I'm too stubborn to turn anything right now because I'm actually on a role with my writing and am too anxious to check with you if everything is okee-do-kee. Right… I promise to read over your story e-mail as soon as I get the chance and I'm in the mood for reading! Oo;;;

Cjchan: Yup, but it's going to have a couple of twists. Thanks for reviewing.

Demonickitten: I would have done a lot of that last summer, but I had a lot on my plate. I had cram-Japanese school and I actually went to Japan. No time for stories as much as it pains me to say… ;.;

O-chan-otaku: Oh you poor, poor, thing. 5am? I feel tired and horrible just at 7am… Anyway, Yes, as you probably guessed by this time Shippo is in this, and Kouga will most definitely will be dragged into this. Souta _might_ find them (not tellin'), and Kagome's three friends won't be joining us in this story. I might be able to fit them in actually, but they won't be anywhere near Kagome and everybody.

Pobbin: May the circle of appreciate-ness continue! I appreciate you reviewing! (Yay!) Yeah, one should feel really bad for Souta… I'm sure he is cursing his unfamiliarity with girls right now. Haha, poor little guy. I hope to hear from you again!


	5. Nagai Hi

Well, I really didn't like the last chapter. I hurried through it instead of being engrossed in writing it. I basically just wanted peoples get the picture that Rin is traveling with Souta and Kagome has negative feelings towards Inuyasha. I promise this chapter will be better, I now have inspiration! (Not tellin' what it is though…)

Alright then! Also guys, you know, it would be really nice if you reviewed. I mean _really_ nice. Even the little "Good job. I liked it. Keep up the good works" will do. I feel so alone here-.-;;; (Sorry psycho-friend, you don't count as company.)

Shoji: Paper, sliding door used in traditional Japanese houses

"ta"s: When we get hurt we usually say, "Ouch," or "Ow." In Japan, however, "ita" means ow or ouch, and repeating "ta" rapidly adds emphasis to the pain. Sort of like when a little kid uses "really" excessively so you will get the picture that it hurts like hell. Only, the ta thing is less annoying.

**Yamaibara**

Chapitre 5

Nagai Hi (Long day)

By, Auroras-flame

Shippo picked his nose bored. He had been on this bloody mountain for two days now. His stomach was growling, there wasn't anything to do, and he was too afraid to merrily get off this wasteland-hill in fear of those wolves.

Shippo sighed and went over to the nearest pile of leaves and started to make another fifty leaf-angels for the day. That was about all he could do now.

Oo

"So, you're a demon slayer Sango?" Kagome asked curiously. Sango raised an eyebrow inquisitively. Kagome smiled weakly and mentioned, "Miroku told me."

They were sitting in Kagome's room on the fourth day of Kagome's arrival. Kagome had somehow convinced Sango to come up to her room and talk about stuff. True, Kagome had almost resulted to blackmail before Sango finally gave in.

"I see…" Sango nodded, "Well, yes. I was trained from a very young age. My parents were demon slayers so they showed me all the ropes until my little brother was born…"

"Oh, you have a little brother?" Kagome asked a little too excitedly, 'I have one too. His name's Souta. What's your little brother's name?"

Sango brought up a weak smile, "Kohaku, his name is Kohaku."

Kagome squeaked and apologized, "I'm sorry I interrupted your story."

Sango shook her head, "Not at all. Anyway, once Kohaku was born my mother died less than a decade after from sickness." Kagome's face deflated, "Then our father taught us how to be taijiya alone. I think he did really well though since I remember Kohaku using his scythe beautifully."

"Remember?" Kagome echoed, "Do you mean you can't see Kohaku anymore? That's not fair!" Kagome crossed her arms stubbornly.

"It's not," Sango agreed, "But there are some more important things than being able to see your family everyday…"

"Like what?"

Sango raised an eyebrow deciding whether Kagome was asking her curiously, or challenging her. She sighed and tried to thin up an answer for her, but failed, so Sango shrugged, "I'll get back to you on that."

"Alright," Kagome murmured her reply. There was an awkward silence, Kagome broke it by asking eventually, "Sango, obviously you didn't come here by choice. So, just why are you here?" Kagome waited patiently for an answer. Sango finally spoke, "To keep Inuyasha in line really. Miroku and I are the only one's who can do it properly. If you sent a demon to do it the demon would kill Inuyasha instead of helping him."

"Huh?" Kagome wondered confusedly, "Is Inuyasha really that dangerous? He seemed a little violent, but I figured he wasn't one to lose self control…" Kagome was going to continue, but Sango cut in definitely, "He's not. Not violently at least, unless he despises you," Sango sighed, "He's more like an overgrown little kid. He mostly gets upset if he doesn't get what he wants."

"I see…" Kagome mumbled unsurely, "But then why do you have to be here… why does anyone have to be here? Why does Inuyasha want to keep this place secret so badly? Why do I have to be here?" Sango did something between rolling her eyes and wincing, making her look pained. She huffed and shrugged, "I just can't tell you."

"Can't or won't?" Kagome wanted to know, folding her arms.

"Won't," Sango answered simply, "Because I don't want to, because I can't if I want to get what I want."

"What do you want, Sango?" Kagome asked.

Sango cracked a smile at the irony, "I can't tell you. Call it a secret."

Oo

_Inutaisho examined his monk's face carefully. He rested his cheek in his hand and asked quite clearly, "So, what you're saying is that there are people who do that for a living."_

"_Yes sir," Noroubido nodded, "Well, not quite for a living, but they can do it. Think of them as advanced priests and priestesses." Noroubido cracked a smile watching his master's face appear doubtful from the idea that priests would willingly walk into his palace without an angry mob behind them and plenty of sacred scrolls._

"_Not interested," Inutaisho decided, "You've led me to do some pretty stupid things in the past houshi-sama; this could end up the same way."_

"_Nonsense, Inutaisho-sama, perish the thought," Noroubido encouraged his masters, "I happen to know these people on a personal level and they would be more than happy to help out a friend of a friend."_

"_Even a demon, eh?" Inutaisho still seemed dubious to the idea, but then shrugged and warned his friend, "Just keep in mind if they attempt to hurt me or my family I will show them no mercy."_

"_Of course, I know," Noroubido bowed. He smiled cheerfully and excused himself by mentioning, "Tell Izayoi-sama and Inuyasha I said 'hi'! I don't really get to talk to them personally anymore."_

_Inutaisho smirked and replied back, "That's not their fault. Give my regards to Miroku too. Hopefully, not following in your footsteps?"_

"_As if he was tracking a bear in the snow!"_

Oo

"Kagome," Sango called Kagome to her attention. Kagome glanced over to her, "Yeah Sango?" Sango wrinkled her nose and asked, "How do you like the bath?"

Kagome winced from embarrassment since she had not had any baths within the last days here at the castle; she just figured they didn't have one. Kagome asked uncomfortably, "What bath?"

Sango shook her head smiling, "That's what I thought…" Sango had to resist giggling when she saw Kagome's ultimate embarrassment. Kagome's face was red and she crouched back in a defensive pose and bit her lower lip. Sango pointed to a shoji to the right of the room that Kagome had ignored until now, Sango told her clearly, "That door leads to the baths."

Kagome strolled over to the door curiously, and slid it open to reveal (sure enough) a room with a moderately large pool with very high windows that were all open (undoubtedly so any steam could escape the room). Kagome shut the shoji and slid to the floor and flushed. This was so embarrassing. She glanced at Sango and laughed nervously, "I hadn't noticed."

Sango nodded her head, "It's ok; I should have pointed it out. I would suggest getting in yet, the water is cold. I could go downstairs and light the fire on the broiler and let you bathe, if you want."

"Alright, I'll go with you, then we can come back up and bathe together…" Kagome suggested. Sango paused and raised a dubious eyebrow at her. Kagome, noticing the strange look, started to apologize, "Oh, sorry! Was that too bold? I didn't mean anything by that."

"No, no," Sango hushed her, "It's okay. I could go for a bath right now." Kagome smiled graciously and they went down to the broiler.

They returned from the broiler with towels. Sango warned, "Since no one is tending to the fire, the bath may not get to hot, and it might die out quickly."

"That's alright," Kagome waved it off, "All I need is one good scrubbing and I'll be good."

They entered the bathroom and started to shed their clothes. The room wasn't all that steamy yet, but the heat was still noticeable. Kagome sighed and mentioned, "Oh yay, a real bath. It feels like I haven't had one in ages." Sango smiled, 'Does time really go that slowly here?"

"When I think I'm bath-less it does," Kagome joked. Kagome and Sango focused on scrubbing themselves after that. The room was quite steamy by the time Sango asked, "Kagome, before we even saw you, Miroku mentioned that he sensed a priestess… you… do you come from a shrine?"

Kagome raised her eyebrows in mild surprise, but nodded, "Yeah, I live about five hours walk away from here at a place called Higurashi shrine. I live with my mother, grandfather, little brother, my cat, and Daddy if he's around."

"If he's around?" Sango murmured.

"Yeah, he travels a lot," Kagome sighed, "He's rarely home, but when he comes home, he usually brings us marvelous gifts from his journeys."

"Was the Yamaibara a gift for you, Inuyasha didn't tell us anything about the encounter between him and your father, just that he 'scared him shitless' and he was going to bring you here," Sango informed Kagome. Kagome chuckled bitterly and spoke through gritted teeth, "Oh, really?" Sango seemed to ignore her and continued, 'So, was the Yamaibara a gift for you?"

"Yeah, he went to China and I wanted a green rose, but he could get a hold of one so he tried to find me Yamaibara instead. As far as I can tell, he found this place and picked some Yamaibara and then Inuyasha threatened him…" Kagome mused.

"Hold on a second…" Sango froze, "He _picked_ the Yamaibara?"

"Uhhh… yes, he gave me some when he got home," Kagome recalled. She wondered why Sango was so shocked and asked, "What's wrong?" Sango shook her head and smiled again, "Oh, nothing."

Kagome bit her lower lip. She didn't like all of these secrets.

Oo

Souta tilted his head worriedly as Rin suited a rather large, new pack onto his shoulder. He asked warily, "Just, what is in this pack, Rin?" Rin swirled around on one foot and chimed, lit candle in hand, "Food, water, two blankets, and a lot of candles!" Souta was afraid to ask, "Candles?" Rin held her candle below her face and smiled eerily, "Don't you know? The mountain died along with the one's living on it…" Souta gulped, he knew what was coming and he really didn't like ghost stories… Rin continued, "There's a castle at the top of the mountain. The servants to the castle used to come down to this village for food supplies and new weavings and stuff, but five years ago, they just stopped coming down… a local food salesman who profited the most from their money went up to check out why they stopped sending servants down… he came back the same night, pale and frightened out of his wits, babbling like an idiot, claiming in fragmented words that the only people at the palace were not human…" Souta stayed in slack-jawed awe as Rin removed the candle from under her face and giggled, "That's why we're bringing all these candles in case we get lost and have to sleep up there. We can sleep inside a circle of them and pray. That should ward off any ghosts."

Souta was wary about the whole idea. Wolves he could handle (and frankly expected), but ghosts were a different story. But that castle that Rin had mentioned… could it be possible that Kagome was there? No, why would she be? Unless… of course... the ghosts got a hold of her and she was now part of their legion of the dead… (AN: Whoo-hoo! Zombies!) Souta wondered aloud, "So these candles are just for the ghosts?"

"Yup!" Rin chirped, "Nothing else would be there. Like I said, there is no life on that mountain, nothing else could possibly survive out there." Rin noticed Souta's worried face, so she smiled and shook her hands, "But I'm sure your sister is alright! She probably escaped to another mountain or to another village or something…"

"That's not who I was worried about," Souta murmured bitterly, "Aren't _we _going to try to search (still alive!) up there?" Rin continued smiling and scratched the back of her head, "We'll be okay! We actually have food." Souta laughed resentfully, "I feel so much better." This girl was a danger to his heart…

He heard the unmistakable sound of snorting coming from Rin. He glanced at her confusedly, to see her cheeks puffed up and a little smile on her lips that she was trying to contain. Her eyes were upside-down crescents as she covered her mouth and begun laughing as quietly as she could. Souta grumbled, "What's so funny?"

Rin pointed a finger at him and giggled, "You're afraid of ghosts…" Souta reacted quickly, "Shush up!" Souta became very defensive of his eleven-year-old masculinity, "I'm not afraid of ghosts! I suppose you're fearless?" Rin shook her head, "No, nobody's totally fearless. But ghosts? Come on. Their not real; it's all in your head Souta-kun."

"Then why are we bringing candles?" Souta challenged her. Rin explained simply, 'I have difficulty keeping campfires lit in case we do get lost and we can't make it home in time. We couldn't be lost for more than one night before we reach another village on the other side of the mountain or something, so a couple long candles will keep us warm for a good portion of the night." Souta glared at her, "Did you really have to go on with that ghost story rubbish then?" Rin raised her eyebrows, "That, it wasn't rubbish." Souta froze, as Rin informed him very seriously, 'That did happen, I was there. But I just figure that the man was a bit of a nut and he probably cooked something up after getting freaked out from some of the left over nocturnal animals hunting for food."

"You're unbelievable," Souta snorted.

Rin shined, "I try my best." Souta really didn't doubt it either. Rin tugged on his arm suggestively and recommended, "We should go now, it will grow dark in a few of hours."

"Uhh… yeah, I guess you're right…" Souta supposed.

Oo

"_I can't believe you talked me into this," Inutaisho grumbled bitterly as he waited impatiently in the seating room. He asked again, "You _did_ tell them that I and my sons were demons didn't you?"_

"_Yes, for about the hundredth time YES," Noroubido was actually starting to become annoyed by his master's doubtfulness, "They're sending over their daughters to do their work, and like it said in the letter, like you mentioned in yours, if either side threatens or actually does hurt the other side, the side that opposes will be dead before they can cause any serious damage."_

"_Jolly," Inutaisho scoffed. This was exactly what he needed, _priestesses_ coming into _his _palace._

_One of very few human servants entered the seating chamber. She bowed politely in front of Noroubido and Inutaisho, "The priestesses are here."_

"_Good, let them in, thank you," Inutaisho waved her off. He wasn't totally fond of the idea of human servants (Noroubido was a different story) but his wife preferred to have women of her own kind to talk to. The woman left the room quietly. She soon returned with a young teenage woman and a child, both dressed in traditional priestess clothes. Inutaisho spared enough time to glare at his "faithful" monk._

"_Good day, sire," the teenage woman greeted him with a bit of airs, "My name is Harumura, Kikyo," Kikyo motioned her hand towards the younger, "and this is my younger sister, Harumura, Kaede." Kaede bowed a bit and avoided eye-contact from anyone in the room._

"_Is there a real need for two of you, Miss Kikyo?" Inutaisho asked curiously, lacing his fingers in front of his mouth._

"_This _is_ a complicated process, sire," Kikyo mentioned, "Kaede is here to assist me when needed."_

"_How long will this process take?" Inutaisho wondered._

"_I'm afraid to say a couple of months, sire," Kikyo sighed, "There is some long process involving your swords being untouched by anyone."_

_Inutaisho sat up strait and raised an eyebrow in expectancy, "So this will be done in less than a year?"_

"_As long as no one disturbs the process, it will not be more than three months," Kikyo held up three fingers for show._

"_Excellent," Inutaisho declared, "My son will be happy to hear that."_

"_Son?" Kikyo paused a little, "The letter said you had two sons that you wanted the swords done for…"_

"_Yes, my younger son, Inuyasha, is a little ignorant about the sword thing," Inutaisho smirked, "but when he's sixteen I'll tell him."_

"_I see," Kikyo didn't seem too enthusiastic about doing something to someone's future sword who didn't know about it, "Should I start now?"_

"_As a matter of fact…" Inutaisho started. Noroubido cut in, "No, no, no, girls, you can start tomorrow, you must be tired from the trip, I'll have Sakaya escort you to your rooms," Noroubido called through the shoji, "Sakaya dear, could you show Kikyo-sama and Kaede-sama to their rooms?"_

_The women who brought Kikyo and Kaede into the room earlier opened the shoji and bowed, "Hae, of course Houshi-sama," Sakaya led Kikyo and Kaede out of the seating room, leaving Inutaisho to glare at Noroubido. He pointed out sharply, "I would have preferred if they started today."_

"_I know," Noroubido chimed, "But that would be impolite. Anyway, are you peeved about their age?"_

"_No, I'm over it," Inutaisho smirked, "The elder is quite something for someone her age."_

"_You're telling me," Noroubido chuckled, "I thought you were into the princess look though…"_

"_Kindly shut up," Inutaisho requested lighter than he should have. He quickly remember something and added, "Oh yes, could you arrange someone to fix the chandelier in the entrance hall, Inuyasha was sitting on it and it fell and nearly punched a hole into the earth. Luckily, the chandelier didn't break, I never knew Westerners built them so sturdy… anyway, get someone to fix it properly, would you?"_

Oo

Inuyasha sat on the ancient chandelier (which was securely into the ceiling). He didn't feel like going outside today. Too damn sunny. Inuyasha glanced up at the top of the chandelier where it was supported into the ceiling. It fell down three times in its existence, all of them due to him laying on it and swinging on it. On the third time his father finally decided to just continue the support through the ceiling and all the way to the third floor. So now beyond the ceiling he saw there was another room directly above him with nothing but long chains hooked onto different parts of the ceiling and being linked to one spot on the ground. It was pretty neat being up there, but he was too wary to touch anything.

His nose caught onto a fresh smell and he looked down towards the ground. He sneered when he saw Kagome wandering the palace without an escort. The stupid bitch would probably get lost. She stopped wandering to examine a vase of dried Yamaibara flowers. She stupidly sniffed them and he rolled his eyes. The flowers were _dead_, was this wench a lost cause or what? He saw her wrinkle her nose and glance towards the doors leading outside. Inuyasha fidgeted and thought bitterly, 'Let's not get any ideas wench…' Kagome put her hand on the door, as if to open it. She opened it ever so slightly and just when Inuyasha was about to jump off his chandelier, Kagome shut the door immediately and shook her head muttering to herself.

Inuyasha regained his composure as she left the entrance hall and went to explore somewhere else. Inuyasha snorted and decided to hop off of the chandelier anyway. He really didn't trust that woman running about the castle on her own.

He landed softly on the ground, deciding not to bring too much attention to himself. He walked quietly, but not sneakily after her. He really didn't care if she saw him or not (because that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing). He paused once he found her stopped in another room, looking distastefully at another dried Yamaibara bouquet in a vase. He snorted silently, sorry, but the décor of this palace wasn't going to change.

"Oh, wow," he heard Kagome mumble as she turned her attention away from the withered flowers. He watched her approach some old paintings that one of his mother's older servants did when there were still people around there. It was a little dusty, so Kagome obviously felt the need to wipe all of it off with her bare hand. Inuyasha hid his disgraced face in his hand… so clueless… The picture was of one of the old lady's experiments with some of the Yamaibara in the garden. There only used to be about five clumps, so his mother was pretty upset with her until she was done with her experimenting and the outcome was favorable. She had somehow managed to dye the water without using any chemicals that would taint the water too much that the roses wouldn't bloom properly. As a result, the roses changed different colors varying from pink to turquoise. So, instead of his mother being extremely upset, she was quite happy and wore some colorful Yamaibara in her hair for about a month until all of the flowers died. She couldn't bring herself to pick any more Yamaibara until _she_ arrived.

Inuyasha brought his thoughts away from such matters and decided to snap Kagome out of her little exploration mood. He called to her, irritated, "Hey, wench! Are we done snooping?"

Kagome jumped from being startled, but then changed to relieved, and then to annoyance, "I wasn't snooping. How long have you been there anyway?"

Inuyasha scoffed and shot, "Long enough to see you snooping."

Kagome shook her head and rolled her eyes, "I swear, talking to you is like talking to a brick wall…" Inuyasha curtly replied back, "And talking to you is like talking to a stupid overzealous nut job bitch with a brain tumor." Before Inuyasha knew it, a seashell incrusted throw pillow was thrown at his head. Inuyasha snorted, "Oh no, not a throw pillow! Gees, was that supposed to hurt?" Inuyasha narrowly dodged a hair brush, four combs, three perfume bottles, two vases (AN: And a partridge in a pear tree… no, I kid), and another throw pillow.

"Crazy bitch!" Inuyasha shouted at her after saving the three perfume bottles and two vases (because they were glass). Kagome rolled her eyes and waved off the guilt she didn't have, "You would have survived…"

"Just what do you have against me!" he yelled at her, setting down the five glass articles. Kagome rolled her eyes, "Come on, are you really _that_ clueless?"

"No!" Inuyasha scoffed, "But what are you mad at me for!" Kagome laughed at him unexpectedly. Inuyasha frankly couldn't figure out what was so funny so he glanced around the room for something comical. He found nothing. He glared at her annoyed, "What's so funny?"

"You mean that wasn't a joke?" Kagome asked as she stopped laughing. She shrugged when she saw Inuyasha's oblivious look. (She's really confusing him). Kagome turned around and opened the door to the room. She paused briefly to ask, "Hey, why am I here?"

"How am I supposed to know? You came in here randomly!" Inuyasha shot bitterly.

"No, I mean in this castle at all," Kagome turned around, but left her hand on the shoji, "I don't seem to have any purpose, but to eat food."

"That's probably true," Inuyasha smirked, "Why are you asking? Have you finally noticed how wide your hips are or something?" Kagome let go of the shoji and clenched her fist threateningly toward him, "What's that supposed to mean!" Inuyasha chuckled, "I think I stated it clearly enough for you to understand it, even with your feeble mortal mind."

"Feeble, am I?" Kagome picked up a low, wide table which only had one empty vase on it. The vase fell off and shattered once Kagome picked up. Kagome chucked the table toward Inuyasha who narrowly dodged it, while shouting something about "psycho bitch". There was a large crash in the background which undoubtedly was from some priceless family heirloom shattering into many unfixable shards. Kagome froze and clasped her arm after the crash. She winced, but not from the crash.

"You're insane, aren't you!" Inuyasha cried. He was going to say more, but he noticed Kagome clutching her arm. He peered at it, "What's wrong? Did you hurt yourself or something?"

Kagome grumbled reluctantly, "I pulled my muscle." Inuyasha, much to Kagome's disgust, started to laugh at her. After his hilarity ceased, he pointed at her arm and merely said, "Feeble."

"Shut up," Kagome growled. She tried to move her arm, but it still hurt. She let out a small string of "ta"s and scowled.

"Aw, crud, you pushed your feeble little body too much. Maybe you would have had enough strength if you didn't throw that extra perfume bottle," Inuyasha suggested sarcastically. Kagome could be sarcastic too, "You provoked me. I could and can not be held responsible for my actions."

"Okay, does it still hurt wench?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome replied curtly, "If it hurt ten seconds ago, it's still going to hurt now." Inuyasha shrugged, "No need to throw a hissy fit about it, just wait five minutes, it'll be gone." Kagome sneered, "I don't like you-" "-and that's okay, 'cause I don't like you neither, despite how entertaining having various objects being thrown at my head is," Inuyasha pointed at his head for emphasis.

"Oh, it couldn't hurt too much, after all, my feeble body wouldn't be able to throw things that well," Kagome mentioned. She yawned, "I'm going to go to my room. Oh yeah, and where do you keep the fire wood besides the couple bundles by the boiler?"

"Miroku and I need to get more, that's right, you do actually smell clean today…" Inuyasha noted, "I was going to say something, but I don't prefer things being chucked at me." Kagome stated, "Well, it isn't like anybody told me where it was."

Oo

They still don't like each other, but it's better than hate. Yay! Progression is good! Anyway, sorry for taking so long, I actually wrote a chapter this long, but I deleted it because I wrote myself into a corner and Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship seemed to be going from bad to worse. This is better though. 4,500 words… not bad… Anyway, here's the responses. (Thanks for all the reviews guys!) Also, NOTE: I don't think the next chapter will be too long, and there won't be too much Inuyasha and Kagome (I think) or any at all.

READ THIS PLEASE! AUTHORESS NEEDS INSPIRATION! I'm too lazy to go out and personally look for fanfics, so if you people have read any good one's _please_ tell me about them! I need inspiration from other fanfics. ;.; I'm dying to read something good right now.

Psycho: Yeah, there's a part I really want to get to, and I'm a bit anxious… (I'm still not there yet, not until, like chapter nine probably… ;.;)

What-a-scene: I'm sorry! I try, but there's always something that gets the way! Like ADD and hunger! (I'm really hungry right now, but I must refrain.)

Sakuran: Hooray! I'm happy you could find my stories (unlike many others). Anyway, I added the last parts for you. There was some sarcastic, witty Kagome in there. Anyway, a lot more personality than I've given her in the past chapters. Also, YES! Kouga will be making an entrance in this story. To be truthful, that's the part I'm really anxious about. I have some great lines and action for between everyone when Kouga comes!

Mad-4-manga: Yeah, I read Beast! Thanks for suggesting it! I loved it! I have to say I wasn't too fond of Kagome's personality at some parts, but there were just some parts where I loved her! I laughed, I cried (well, not literally, but if I wasn't such a space cadet, there would be tears!) and I really just want to thank you for suggesting it to me.

Montrith: I'm going to leave you in the dark about the curse, but keep reading the italicized work because that will slowly lead to the explanation about the curse.

Serra-owns-Inuyasha: I'm actually rather fond of the Disney Beauty and the Beast, but I can't stand the fact that Belle falls in love with a furry monster when she only knows him for about two to three days (count the days according to the father's journey). It's just too weird… Anywho, I'm sorry about the updating thing! Right now I'm forcing myself to be on the computer (So… hungry…) Something always gets in the way…. I so sorry! ;.; Anyway, the reason with the poor updating is that I'm doing this in shifts, after the next chapter, I'm going to start updating Alternate Universes for three chapters, and the Wanting Freedom, and you get te idea.


	6. Tokidoki ni Ai

Hello again! Cower in fear of the FILLER CHAPTER! Well, there will still be comedy, and now that I think about it no angst… that and I'm introducing a new character… Awwww, well, it won't be as good because I'm not putting Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango in it (Well, not the present one's anyway). Well, enjoy it anyway!

Oh yes, and if I do not get enough reviews before I post this chapter, I shall scare and scar you for the rest of your life! I shall perform a song and twist the lyrics so they benefit my position! BUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Feel my wrath! Review! Review!

Musume: Daughter (when addressing your own)

Bouzu: Monk/priest

Hannya: Female demon

Miru: Look

Ikimasho: Let's go

Chapter 6

Tokidoki ni Ai

By, Auroras-flame

Dedicated to, psycho, 'cause I realize how much virtual abuse I put you through. Have a basket of huggles! (When's the last time I used _that_ phrase?) Oh yes, I'm afraid you sharing your dedication with "Kesenai Tsumi" theme music to this chapter! (In other words, I wrote the chapter listening to the same song over and over again)

"_Would it be alright to share rooms with my younger sister Miss…?" Kikyo trailed off suggestively. "Sakaya;" the maid finished for her, "and yes, the Sir Monk made sure to arrange you had sharing rooms." Kikyo nodded and smiled faintly, "Thank you."_

"_Mother!" a voice shouted through the hall. Kikyo watched, bemused, as Sakaya flinched and tried to hide her shame. A young woman rushed up and tugged on her mother's sleeve, "I tried pumbling him into the ground, but he just gets back up! Now what should I do!"_

"_Musume-san, I'm very busy right now, please hurry off and play with bouzu-kun somewhere else," Sakaya hissed in a hushed voice. Sakaya's daughter peered over towards Kikyo and Kaede and blushed from embarrassment._

"_Forgive me Miko-sama's," begged the daughter while bowing, "I didn't realize your presence- I mean wait, that sounded wrong, what I meant to say was…"_

"_Sango! The threads of adolescent love tie us together in an endless hoop of uncultivated need! The red string draws me to you and my love is stronger than ever!" yelled a cracking voice. As a young man turned the corner of the hall dressed in lesser monk robes. Kaede started to laugh squealing, "He looks like a miniature Noroubido-sama." Kikyo had to agree; not only did this boy look like Noroubido-san, but he _acted_ like him worst of all._

_He stopped his preaching when he saw both priestesses. He walked up to them slowly and did an exaggerated bow while flirting, "You two must be our two new priestesses. My father has described the beauty of your family," he raised his head from his bow and raised an eyebrow, "but his portrayals do neither of you justice." Kikyo giggled for a moment of weakness, but not from being charmed, from being flirted with from a young man who (although his voice was clearly cracking) wasn't too tall yet. She wasn't shallow, but she had standards… _(AN: Don't we all-.-)

"_Miroku, right?" Kaede appeared to be enamored by Noroubido's offspring though, because she set down her items and was covering a girlish blush with both of her hands. Miroku regained common composure and crossed his arms and smirked, "So you heard of me?" Kaede nodded, "Noroubido-sama says you're nearly the exact copy of him, except you have your mother's eyes and guilt." _

_Miroku frowned, "What's that supposed to mean… "guilt"?" Sango snorted, "Maybe some shred of yourself may feel bad about womanizing every girl your age (sometimes even older) that you come across." Miroku considered it as he glanced up at the ceiling, but shook his head, "Nah."_

Oo (If anyone's wondering, Sakaya's still wallowing in her embarrassment)

"_Who's the new chick?" Inuyasha asked Miroku, while steadily glaring at the priestess talking so familiarly with both of their fathers. Inuyasha also saw Sango's father in the background listening in on anything the three had to say, but remained silent and still. Inuyasha's, being half demon, aging slowed. Even though he was a little older than he seemed, he looked about fifteen._

_Miroku smiled, "Harumura, Kikyo. Her father and my father were friends "back in the day". I heard she's here for some sort of secret mission involving both priests and demons."_

_Inuyasha scoffed, "Not likely. I would have heard about it by now," his ear twitched in some sort of unconscious emphasis. Miroku rolled his eyes, "Yes, because after all, you are the most attentive person in the world."_

_Miroku waited for a not-so-smart aleck remark back, but received none. "Inuyasha?"_

"_Huh, what, I wasn't paying attention, I thought I heard a cat," Inuyasha confided. Miroku stopped himself from laughing at the irony, but Sango stepped in and did it for him shaking her head, "You are so hopeless."_

"_Ah, Sango, what have you heard about the dreamy, creamy, provocative example of beauty over there," Miroku nudged his head toward Kikyo politely laughing at some joke Noroubido just made._

_Sango gave a half-bored glare in Kikyo's general direction and glanced away to gaze at a tree, "I don't think she's really all that pretty." Inuyasha joined in with a nod, "Mediocre." _

_Miroku shook his head incredulously at both his friends, "You're both blind! Blind I tell you! Or Sango is jealous and Inuyasha's gay…"_

"_NOT LIKELY."_

"_Okay, okay," Miroku put up his hands defensively, "But what's wrong with her? She has all the right stuff in all that right places. Black lustrous locks, floating around in the wind, dainty ivory hands retaining it passively. Azure-grey eyes fluttering from moment's start as light rose lips part to reveal…"_

"_GAAAAHHHHHH! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Sango screamed, "You should be shot with an arrow before you can even open your mouth!" Inuyasha agreed dully, "Yup… Hmmm?"_

_Sango and Miroku glanced over to see what was with Inuyasha's questioning grunt. He was watching Inutaisho and Noroubido point out their little posse to Kikyo. Inuyasha growled suspiciously as she gave a faint smile and bowed professionally before approaching them. By the time she reached the group, Miroku was greeting her, "Good day, Miss Harumura. What brings you to our humble little group?"_

"_I'm going to meet the young master Sesshomaru at dinner this night, but I wanted to meet you too Inuyasha, and from what I understand, you don't tend to join family dinners…?" Kikyo trailed off questioningly. "Too crowded," Inuyasha grunted. Kikyo nodded, "I see. Well, has your father informed you why I'm here?" Inuyasha shook his head. Kikyo frowned, "So you haven't been told anything by your mother? Hm… anyway, I suppose I should explain…"_

"_You being here, has something to do with me?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. Kikyo nodded and added, "Sesshomaru, too," Kikyo glanced at Sango, "May you leave?" Sango's face got red despite herself, but Miroku cut in, "Anything you can tell me and Inuyasha, you can tell Sango. She's the slayer, Gairi, Kesenai's daughter. Surely, commander of this castle's Taiyo is just as important as my father." Sango blushed from the introduction, but soon put in childishly, "Yeah."_

_Kikyo didn't seem all that upset about not excluding Sango, because she just smiled weakly and apologized to Sango and continued, "Well, you see Inuyasha-sama…" Inuyasha cut in, "Just Inuyasha, the "sama" thing annoys me." Kikyo reluctantly corrected herself, "_Inuyasha_, your father has three very powerful swords in his possession. One of hell, one of earth, and one of the heavens. Your father wants you and your brother to have two of his swords by the time of Sesshomaru's 150th birthday," Kikyo let out a small chuckle at the unbelievable number, and then continued, "But there's a problem. He wants the swords adjusted in certain ways for both of you. Sesshomaru, for example will wield the sword of the heavens Tenseiga, which will heal a hundred humans in a single swing, which basically means, bring them back from the dead. But for some reason, he wants to give the sword… how should I phrase this?… a _mind_ of its own…" Inuyasha tilted his head quizzically, "So much so, that if it has to, it will protect Sesshomaru from harm, even if he refuses to wield it. It will also slowly and smoothly coax him into wanting to use the sword to heal humans he knows personally. So, I'm here to do the best thing really, I'm literally giving it a soul…"_

"Excuse me_?" Miroku cut in, "Aren't you a priestess? Isn't that against your religion? The soul should be able to go to Nirvana and transport into its next life, not be abused into being a sword that will undoubtedly never be wielded?"_

_Kikyo lowered her head apologetically, "I'm sorry Miroku-san, but it is the only way. My family has managed to tame some demons called Shinidamachuu, soul stealers. They take the souls of the dead and eat them. However, if they'll share with me, I can give Tenseiga life."_

_Miroku clearly disapproved, but he didn't see anything he could do about it so he shrugged awkwardly and grumbled._

"_So what sword am I getting Kikyo…?" Inuyasha asked. Kikyo seemed mildly offended until Inuyasha corrected himself and finished, "-san?"_

"_The sword of the Earth, Tetsuaiga, yours will be a little more difficult to change. I need to take a visit to the maker and ask him a couple questions about it…" "Will is involve souls?" Miroku asked immediately. Kikyo shook her head, "No. Tetsuaiga's procedure should be entirely religion appropriate." Kikyo smiled sweetly, "It's so nice that you take religion so seriously now. Most are too involved with the wars to even care."_

_Miroku smirked and put both hands behind his head and relaxed and mentioned suavely, "Well, you know…" Sango glared, "No, we don't know. Enlighten us." Miroku waved her off laughing, "Sango, Sango, you take everything so literally." Sango demanded, "What's that supposed to mean!"_

"_So, you're just working on some little project of Dad's then?" Inuyasha commented as the two bickered in the background._

"_Yes," Kikyo confirmed, "Strictly business, I will be gone in about a month." Inuyasha snorted, "Month, eh? Sure."_

_Kikyo stared at him curiously, but shook it off and bid farewell to the trio._

Oo

Souta and Rin climbed up the steep mountain, Rin leading the way (much to Souta's frustration). Rin eventually called down to him, "Hey, Souta-kun, are you afraid of heights!" Souta gulped thinking about how high up they must be, "A little." Souta heard a grunt from Rin as she climbed onto a grassy flat area, she smiled, "Okay, then I won't tell you not to look down!" Souta asked despite his common reasoning, "Huh, why?" Rin shrugged, "People always look down when they're told not to."

Souta looked down, and froze up on the steep incline, if he fell, he'd tumble through thousands of dirt, rocks, and dead plant life; unable of stopping himself. Rin snorted, "You dummy! You looked down!" Never look down until you're on a secure ledge, a traveler would know that!" (AN-.- I'm not even sure if you should look down even if you are on a ledge….)

"Says who, stayed-in-her-village-village-all-her-life?" Souta jabbed harshly. A little too harshly…

"Watch out Souta kun, there's a couple _rocks_ coming your way!" Rin snidely remarked as she kicked a rock about the size of an apple his way. (AN: I don't know why, but the idea of girls throwing objects at boys is strangely comical… even if Rin would never really do it.) Luckily, Rin missed him by a couple feet, but Souta still winced. He reached the top and half-heartedly glared at her. She would pay for that one way or another.

"Heh, let's go, this area is pretty flat and…. Oh, look Souta! The sun is setting! This is such a cool perspective!" Rin pointed off the ledge and sat down on her pack. Souta glanced at the sun set, and wasn't too impressed. He saw a lot of sun sets from the top of the shrine. He winced at the thought, how were they managing anyway.

Oo

Black kimonos had become the fashion in the little town. It had been six days now? It made Sanbanme sick. She had spent some time glaring down those retched cards that foretold of the event; all fortune telling was supposed to be vague enough so it left the customer guessing until their fortune was unfolded. This however, was much too precise for her liking. It felt too much like she had some part in causing this.

After Higurashi had left to inform his family about she had told him, Sanbanme pulled out a card and its meaning chart. She discovered that she had forgotten one of the death card's meanings… transformation, making way for the new… however, before she could get a hold of Higurashi, his son in law had come home and Miss Kagome was reported as, well, dead. Not only that, but Higurashi's heir, Sou-what's-his-face, had run away at the word of his sister's death; not to mention he took an entire minishrine's worth of donations. After the display of thievery, Sanbanme was surprised when Higurashi had come in the next day with a bag of money and a demand for his grandson's fortune, and then his daughter's once more. She permitted a reading for his grandson, but denied the granddaughter's fortune, informing him firmly that she was a fortune reader, not a medium.

She was going to retrieve her date book, but Higurashi demanded that the cards be used. Sanbanme was reluctant, but chose to agree to Higurashi's request. She didn't want to use the same layout as she did for Miss Kagome, so she chose the simplest, the three card past, present, and future. The first of the upright moon; which basically meant trickery, deception, disillusionment, error, danger, and disgrace. Higurashi claimed he had no idea what that meant. He wondered if the moon were Souta, for he had endangered himself, made an error, and disgraced his family. Sanbanme wasn't too sure, a thought the idea a little too vague, but kept her opinions to herself. The next card was something that lifted the elderly woman's spirits. It was the six of swords, a journey, a passage away from sorrow, harmony will prevail. As for the last card, she never found out. A mighty wind blew into her hut right before she was about to pick up the last card. Souta's fate was obviously supposed to remain a mystery to the elderly pair. Higurashi-san broke down, but didn't cry, luckily for Sanbanme; not to be heartless, but she had no idea what to do with a crying man other than to take his money and shove him out.

Sanbanme recollected what she heard the Higurashi's state was. Higurashi-san was now in denial. She heard that he held no facial expressions for anyone. Some claimed that during Kagome's funeral, Higurashi-san just sat and did nothing but stare at his tea as other's tried to comfort him and show sadness for his loss. Higurashi-san's son-in-law was just a broken man now. Everyone who went to his daughter's funeral said that he did nothing but cry, and eventually ran out of tears, but just kept sobbing. As for Higurashi-san's daughter, the mother of the family, she was nowhere to be seen at the funeral. When people asked Mr. Higurashi, he told them through the tears that she was either in Kagome or Souta's rooms. There were rumors that she was on the edge of insanity, or had committed suicide, but no one really knew where she was. Sanbanme would have to skillfully ask Higurashi-san the next time he came for his fortune telling.

OO

"_Oh drat!" Inuyasha heard from behind a door. He paused from walking to his room, and stood in front of a black shoji. He pondered whether he should just walk in and see what the problem was. He wasn't in the servant's quarters, and everybody higher was at dinner right now. He shrugged, it was his (well, his father's, same difference) castle, what the hell._

_Inuyasha opened the shoji at what he thought was a moderately slow pace, but still, Kikyo jumped and turned to him half glaring. She quickly corrected herself, "Ah! Inuyasha-sama, why are you here?"_

"_Cut the "sama" thing," he ordered, 'and why am I here? I thought I told you… what was it… three days ago?... that I didn't go to those stupid dinner thing. You, on the other hand," Inuyasha pointed to her rudely, "actually bother, so I should be asking you that question."_

"_Ah, well, I'm working on Tenseiga right now," Kikyo explained motioning toward the sword. "The soul is quite reluctant. Maybe I should have specified to the Shinidamachuu what I wanted from the soul…"_

"_Yeah, yeah, not that this isn't just fascinating," Inuyasha drawled, "but who's sword is this again?"_

"_There's no need for sarcasm, Lord," Kikyo pointed out. "Inuyasha," he corrected her, "My name has never been "lord" so stop it." Kikyo shook her head, but said, "_Inuyasha_, this is Sesshomaru's sword, like I mentioned much earlier."_

"_Oh, how's the tight ass anyway? He usually stays in his room unless he feels like eating, which is rare…" Inuyasha added, "I wouldn't be surprised if he made everyone have dinner is his room. He's so attached to it I think his butt is permanently fused to his bed."_

"_I think that Sesshomaru-sama is actually quite amusing," Kikyo spoke her opinion. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "Are we talking about the same Sesshomaru?" Kikyo nodded, "He was a bit sardonic, but I found his wit and timing in delivering insults, although hurtful, was actually quite amusing."_

"_You are a twisted lady," Inuyasha accused her. Kikyo only smiled at the comment, "Perhaps. I live in constant obedience, so it might only be me that finds them funny."_

"_Keh."_

_He watched Kikyo fiddle with the sword a little more, but she shook her head, "This just won't do…" Kikyo glanced toward the window and without even calling a snake like demon floated down around her. Inuyasha hopped back readying his claws. Kikyo stopped him shouting, "Wait! This is the Shinidamachuu I was telling you about. She collected the soul for this sword," she explained calmly. Inuyasha relaxed as Kikyo tensed up, "However, this soul is inadequate and disobedient." The Shinidamachuu narrowed her eyes and twitched a bit. Kikyo demanded, "I'd like you to release this soul and let it travel to Nirvana, might you bring me back another soul, a female soul perhaps? The chances are that a female soul would be much more obedient."_

_The Shinidamachuu nodded slowly and lifted a shiny floating ball out the sword. Inuyasha watched in awe as the hannya swiftly performed a small twirl around Kikyo and left the room. _

_Inuyasha glanced back at Kikyo who was smiling at him softly, "Please don't tell Noroubido or his son that I'm using another soul. They'd probably be pretty upset if I put that much stress on the dead only to toss it away."_

"_No shit, he'd get emotional if a fly lost its soul, Miroku," Inuyasha mused, "I can't even imagine what the monk would be like."_

"_So you won't tell?" Kikyo asked hopefully._

"_Nah, nothing to gain."_

"_Thank you, I would be upset if Noroubido told my father in a negative manner that I went through more souls than I promised," Kikyo sighed, "My father has such a tight bond with him… I really can't imagine what would happen to me if I upset him."_

_Inuyasha sneered, "Good Gods woman, is your father abusive or something?."_

_Kikyo shot, rather defensively, "No! Of course not," she lowered her eyes, "but his disappointment would hurt much more than his fists."_

"_So you abuse yourself," Inuyasha summed up, "Not in some twisted suicide way, but mentally."_

"_Hey, how did this conversation migrate to my psyche?" Kikyo asked with amusement, "We're nearly strangers and now I'm talking to you as if you were my close friend." She smiled slightly at Inuyasha's blush and added, "If I ever finish these swords I hope we can be. Even though you look tough and act tough, you really are sweet at your moments."_

"_Hey! Cut the _sweet_ thing! I'm nothing but tough," Inuyasha scoffed, face flushing._

"_So, how about it?" Kikyo asked while rising, "How about we be friends after this sword thing is over. I would hope we could be friends now, but I don't want to look unprofessional in your father's eyes. You might know the feeling."_

_Inuyasha, still crimson, 'kehed', "I- Whatever crazy person."_

_Kikyo chuckled._

Oo

The soft patter of paws and feet could be heard crunching through the dead brush. It was faint, but still noticeable to his sharp ears. The huffing, sniffing, and agitated growls indicated a hunt. It was dark out now, suggesting that these were creatures of the night, or perhaps just wished to attack their prey when they were attempting to sleep.

Shippo jolted upward, eye twitching. The wolves were coming.

Oo

"Rin! Wait up!" Souta called moving his way through a prickly bush. Rin stopped and waited for him and pouted, "You walk to slow."

"Hey, I didn't work night shifts at an inn," Souta pointed out, "Normal people who can't see well in the dark are usually asleep at this time. What is it? About four hours to sunrise. Can't we make came now?" he asked exasperatedly.

"What? No, I'm not tired. And you should be motivated by your possibly alive sister to help you stay awake," Rin snooted.

Souta scowled, he wasn't entirely sure if she was right morally or not, but it sounded right so he assumed she knew what she was talking about, even though he didn't. (AN: Did everybody catch that?)

Rin stopped, suddenly. Souta stopped walking to, but more out of confusion, "Why'd you stop?" "Shhhhh!" Rin hushed him. Souta closed his mouth and tried to comprehend what Rin was saying, "...sten…"

'Sten'? 'Li_sten_?" That must be it. He listened hard and heard the swishing of leaves from far away. Rin turned to him, and even though he couldn't see any distinguishable expression on her due to the darkness, he somehow knew what she meant. She crept to the same bush he just struggled to get out of and sat down in it in hiding. He mimicked her and made his breathing shallower and nearly silent so they could hear the rustling better.

Much to Souta's discomfort, the rustling became louder and louder. It was disturbing. Wasn't this hill supposed to be inhabited by nothing? This really couldn't be good. What if it was ravenous wolves? Then what? Well, that would probably mean that they would get eaten… Crud.

The rustling eventually got to the point where it stopped right in front of them. Souta was panicking, he glanced over to Rin silently, to see she was narrowing her eyes at a particular spot and smiling, giving her an almost maniacal look.

Rin spontaneously jumped out of their hiding place and toward whatever was out there. Souta fell back in disbelief. She was insane!

"Fox magic!"

A bright light expanded for a split second and was followed by smoke. Souta blinked a couple times. What?

He forced himself out of the bushes to see Rin biting a… giant, pink bubble?

Oo

"Miru!" a fellow wolf demon pointed. Kouga glanced to see a familiar smoke curling up from not too far away. He smirked. The idiot fox just gave away his position. Whatever possessed him to use fox magic was a mystery to him, but hey, no skin of his back if his prey is stupid.

"Ikimasho," Kouga encouraged his pack, "I want that jewel."

Oo

"There is something on my mountain…"

Oo

Okay, that was a suspenseful ending; I'm giving up my rotation thingy because it's starting to annoy me. I really want to finish my Alternate Universes fic soon so I think I'm going to dedicate a lot of time to that!

Mad-manga: Okay answers to your questions….

What happens to Kikyo in this fic? Can't tell you, it's an s-e-c-r-e-t! But don't jump to conclusions, because I'm not like other authors.

Does Kagome have a fetish for inu-ears in this fic? I haven't decided, perhaps, I'll just have to see where my story takes me.

When will I introduce Sesshomaru? Probably towards the end… or maybe sooner, I have to ideas of how the story can go and that's one of the plot twisters in it.

When will I introduce Naraku? I'm not even sure if I will introduce Naraku. He doesn't really seem to fit in the grand scheme of things that I have planned, but if I do add him in, he'll pop up within the next five chapters.

I hope these answers are good! Keep on asking me questions! I like them!

Psycho: Heh, BTW the maid's name (and Sango's mother) was Sakaya, not Sayaka. Almost though, but not quite.

Demonic kitten: I so sorry! I've been so busy with finals lately and the stress of school! Evil school… I'll try to update a lot more frequently now. I'm already page five on the next chapter of Alternate Universes (these are usually about eight pages long, but this one is 10!)

Pobbin: I haven't reached your story-people yet. I haven't been on the computer that much because of finals. I'll probably read one whole one tonight since tomorrow I really don't have anything to do, but sleep. From what you say, they sound really good! I read a couple of different pairing stories (although most of them are Sango/Miroku (who are frankly the cutest couple ever!)). I'll check out the one you said you were really interested in tonight.

Tigris: I think I'm just going to call you this. It brings back old memories. (BTW sorry, but I'm having a bit of difficulty with my Red and Silver Assassin rewrite. My computer deleted it a couple of times (three times to be precise) so I had to start all over) Why thank you! My fics come first (or at least my AU's come nearly first). Awww… I feel loved. Sorry Inuyasha and Kagome weren't this chapter (probably making it your least favorite). But there will be plenty of them in the next chapter.


	7. Shizuka Zen Zen Nai

Okay, I'm going to work on this fic for a while I think. I'm really anxious to do this chapter so I hope it turns out well.

, ne: Usually means huh? Right?

Hime: Princess

Chapitre 7

Shizuka Zen Zen Nai (Not Exactly Quiet)

By, Auroras-flame

"Eh?" Sango rubbed her eyes and rose from her mat. It was still night-time. She heard knocking on her door. She grumbled. This had better be important… She got up and walked as quietly as possible so she could open her shoji.

She opened to see Inuyasha and Miroku, fully dressed in their day clothes, watching her. "Gah!" Sango closed her shoji. She was still in her night kimono. She thought it would be Kagome so Inuyasha and Miroku were a bit of a shock.

"Oh, give me a break Sango," Inuyasha opened her shoji, "Get your normal clothes on and meet us outside. There are people here."

"People?" Sango's eyes narrowed, "I understand."

"Alright, speed it up, but be quiet, don't wake up the wench," Inuyasha hurried her as he closed her shoji.

Oo

(A few hours before)

Kagome sat up abruptly in her bed. 'I'm thirsty.'

She crawled out of her bed silently and glanced out her window. A crescent moon was shining light onto her bed. It was surprisingly bright and a bit red much to her discomfort.

'There must be a war happening somewhere,' Kagome bit her bottom lip. She knew perfectly well what caused red moons. Despite the omen-moon, tonight was rather beautiful and peaceful.

She opened her shoji quietly and glanced over to the room next to hers, Sango's room. She was probably sleeping soundly right now, she shouldn't wake her up.

Kagome inched down the stairs, not making too much noise. The kitchen was on the bottom story near the entrance… maybe she could find it in the dark.

With some searching, she finally reached the kitchen; she sighed with relief, but then stopped. Why was she here again?

"Uhhhhhhhhgggg…!" Kagome groaned, she wanted something! What! Was! It!

She looked out the opening in the kitchen leading outside. The moon had moved a bit. How long was she looking for the kitchen? What a waste of time…

As she watched the moon for that brief moment, a bright light briefly appeared from a forest part nearby. She jumped in surprise. What was that? She rushed outside and stared at the area where she thought she saw the light. There was a bit of smoke coming from there. She gasped and covered her mouth. Was someone trying to set the mountain afire!

She soon found herself running to the fire. She had to do something about it.

Oo

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Shippo squealed in pain. He cried, "Get off! Get off! Get off!" Little flat teeth were digging into his bubbly exterior and it hurt… a lot.

A little human boy hopped out of the bushes and stared at Shippo with unbelieving eyes. Human? Flat teeth? These weren't wolves… these were…!

Shippo quickly transformed back into his human self. He felt tears of pain sting his eyes as she looked down at a little girl biting his arm forcefully. After their eyes met, she quickly let go and fell down back on her bottom.

"Who- no, _what _are you?" the little boy asked warily.

"What do I look like? I'm a fox demon. I should be asking what was _that for_!" Shippo yelled. He grasped his throbbing arm and glared at the little girl, "That hurt ya know!"

"We thought you could be dangerous, or man eating, we couldn't take chances," the little rabid girl explained.

"Well, you'd better get out of this place soon if you think _I'm_ dangerous," Shippo explained, "There are wolves after me."

"What!" the little boy yelled. He boldly picked up Shippo and yelled in his face, "They're after _you_?"

"Well, yeah, what else would they be after? You know anyone else who pissed them off lately?" Shippo spat, "Now let me go, they'll be here soon."

The boy dropped him and shook his head. Shippo, not wanting to be caught up in whatever their problems were mentioned, "I don't know about you, but I'd start running about now."

"Oh gods! Souta!"

Oo

"I'm ready," Sango came out of her room. She was dressed in her normal pink and black armor, her hair put up in a high ponytail. Hiraikotsu swung over shoulder and mask covering her mouth and nose; she nodded to Inuyasha and Miroku.

Inuyasha left and darted down the stairs, knowing that Miroku and Sango would follow. He came to a sudden halt though when he saw the entrance doors open. He heard Miroku and Sango's footsteps stop abruptly as well when they saw what he was looking at.

He heard Miroku whisper behind him, "You don't think…?"

Inuyasha definitely thought. Were the people on the mountain Kagome and her family…? He took a sniff of the air. Kagome wasn't here in the palace; he must have not noticed her nonexistent scent because he was so focused on the ones on his mountain. So it was true; she was trying to run away. He growled. He'd catch her. Nobody dared try to outsmart him.

Inuyasha ran outside at a quick pace, much too quick for Miroku and Sango's human bodies.

"No! Inuyasha wait! I sense…" Inuyasha had gotten out of earshot before Miroku could finish his sentence.

"You're so stupid," he growled.

Oo

Sango glanced over at Miroku who stopped talking as soon as Inuyasha left eyesight. She asked him curiously, "What do you sense houshi-sama?"

"I sense several demonic presences… I don't think Kagome ran away…" Miroku explained shakily. Sango's eyes widened and said, "We need to find him!"

Oo

Kagome ran to where she saw a small light. That has to be where the fire was starting. If she didn't do anything soon the dead plant life here would fuel the fire even more than usual.

She soon got really close to the light. She didn't know why, but she could tell she was close. The closer she got, the more she wondered why the fire was pink. She got to a point where all she had to do was go around one more tree. She paused for a moment though. It wasn't warm like it would be of there was a fire. That and she heard voices.

"That hurt ya know!" The voice of a child…

"We thought you could be dangerous or man eating, we couldn't take chances." The voice of a young girl…

"Well, you'd better get out of this place soon if you think _I'm_ dangerous. There are wolves after me." Kagome blinked a couple times. Wolves? There are wolves on this mountain?

"What!" Kagome's head snapped up, that voice, it sounded so familiar… "They're after _you_?" Who was that? Kagome hit her head several times out of frustration. After thought, she snapped her head up. Of course! Oh good gods!

Kagome rolled away from the tree and dived into the area, "Oh gods! Souta!"

She tackled Souta to the ground before he even had a chance to look at her. He struggled, but then stopped in realization and mumbled through her chest, "Kaguuma?"

She got up and let a tear escape her. Someone came to get her… Someone came to rescue her from… She froze solid. Inuyasha… he must be coming for her now. How would she look with Souta so far away from the castle? She silently cursed until Souta tackled her back and started to sob into her night kimono.

"Okay! I have no idea what's going on," the first voice she heard, who turned out to be a little boy… no, demon, "but we need to run! Now!"

"I don't think so…" said a confident voice from behind Kagome. Kagome halted. That wasn't Inuyasha… She turned around slowly to see many a wolf demon. She glanced around herself a little frantically now, they were surrounded. There was no way out.

"What do we have here?" the wolf demon who spoke earlier smirked, "It looks like lunch time for nearly half my pack. This is certainly a surprise."

Kagome hugged Souta closer to her, he was shaking. For the first time in Kagome's life, she felt it would be nice if Inuyasha popped up to say 'hi' now… who was she kidding, he would probably help the wolves kill her.

"Where's the jewel punk?" the wolf man asked the little demon boy. The boy, shaking from fear stuttered, "I- I don- I don't know what you- you're talking about!"

"Oh, get real kid, we all can sense it on you," he laughed menacingly, "Give it to us and we won't hurt you."

"That's right! We won't hurt you! We'll make killing you painless!" Kagome heard in the background.

"If you can sense it, then why don't you just take it, because I don't have it on or in me," the little demon boy seemed unexpectedly confident.

"We could check that by shredding you," the wolf leader flexed his claws for show, "Or have you given it to one of these humans, in order to mix us up?" Kagome bit her lower lip. She didn't want to be involved in this, and she especially didn't want Souta to either.

"So how about it wench?" Kagome glanced away from her brother to see the wolf leader staring strait at her, "Could you tell me where it is?"

"Where what is?" Kagome managed to squeak.

"Don't play stupid," the wolf demon sneered. Kagome turned pale, "I really don't know what you're talking about!" The wolf demon ripped Souta out of her arms and held him by the back of his shirt and demanded, "Tell me!" The rest of the wolves were starting to get excited by the possible violence and blood.

"I DON'T KNOW! Let him go!" Kagome jumped for Souta and latched onto him with the wolf demon still holding him. The demon narrowed his eyes and dropped Souta.

"Why did you stop Kouga? I'm sure she was about to crack…" one of the wolves asked, disappointed by the lack of death.

"She doesn't know, regarding humans, only men don't care about children's welfare, if she knew she would've told us when I threatened the brat," he explained, a bit agitated.

Kagome felt furious, but thankful at the wolf demon at the same time. Furious that he threatened Souta, yet thankful that he let him go.

"Okay, I'm looking for a pink jewel about this big called the Shikon no Tama," Kouga, the wolf leader, held out his fingers so she could see.

"Pink?" Kagome remembered the pink light she followed. It was still here, she glanced at a place in the ground where the pink light was coming from. She glanced at Shippo and then at the pink spot in the ground.

"Is that where it is?" Kouga seemed delighted now, "You buried it kit?"

The little demon turned white and shot an unbelievable stare at Kagome and just collapsed on the ground. Kouga smirked, "I'll take that for a 'yes'."

"How did you know?" Shippo mumbled to Kagome hopelessly. Kouga raised an eyebrow, but walked over to the spot where Kagome was looking at, and guarded by two real wolfs on both sides, he punched a hole into the ground. Under it, there was a small hollow cave where the pink light shined the brightest. Kouga cracked a smile and turned around to show a jewel to all of his other men. They all cheered with victory.

He slid the jewel into his arm covering and ordered, quite simply, "Kill them."

Kagome gasped as all the blood lusting wolves and wolf demons turned towards her, Souta, and both the little girl and fox boy. They approached slow and suspenseful; knowing that they knew there was no chance for escape. As one wolf got near enough to Kagome's foot to take a bite, Kouga kicked it and stated as he pulled her arm away from Souta and forced her to stand up, "Not her." Kagome shivered as the wolf man looked strait into her eyes, "You are quite useful. I know you didn't know where the jewel was, but saw it anyway… I think I'll…"

"Get away from her!" Kouga grabbed Kagome and Souta and moved them away from the area. Kagome closed her eyes tightly throughout the whole ordeal, but when she opened them, she opened them widely and exclaimed, "Inuyasha!"

"Well this is unexpected," Kouga mused, "I never thought I'd run into so many new people on a dead piece of rock. But wait, you're not a person, are you?" Kouga narrowed his eyes, "You're a half breed."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called, overjoyed. She tugged on Souta's arm and said, "This way," she turned to the other two children and added, "You too. Follow me." Kagome ushered all three of the children behind Inuyasha and his Tetsuaiga.

"Die wolf!" Inuyasha made a strait attack for Kouga's torso. Kouga missed the strike to his chest but received a nasty cut on his arm. He crouched down holding the bloody spot. Kagome saw the pink jewel fall out of his arm covering as Inuyasha kicked him back into a tree. He looked like he was about to do more to Kouga, but the rest of the wolves came to his aide. Inuyasha swung his sword about three times, slightly wounding many, greatly wounding a few, and Kagome winced at those now lying motionless on the ground. She finally had enough, "Inuyasha stop!"

"Retreat!" Kouga's men called. Most of them left except 6 wolves, four of which were now motionless, three wolf demons all still alive but too injured to walk, and Kouga, lying upright beside a tree sitting in his arms blood.

Kagome saw Shippo scurry up to the dropped jewel and slip it into his shirt, only to quickly retreat back to Kagome's side.

Kagome sighed with relief and sank to the ground, which was probably much too soon because Inuyasha approached her looking down to her scornfully, "Just what was going through your head tonight?"

Kagome suddenly remembered, "Oh gods! I woke up to get… something… I forget and I ended up in the kitchen and looked out the window and I saw a bright light and some smoke coming from over here. I thought someone was trying to burn down the forest so I left to see if I could do anything about it and I ended up following this light and ended up with these three. Then we got attacked by the wolves and then I unknowingly helped Kouga find some pink jewel thing that I followed here in the first place." Kagome was going at way too fast a pace for Inuyasha to comprehend anything she was saying so he just nodded and said, "Yeeeeaaaahhh… likely story."

"It's true!" she announced defensively.

"I can vouch for her," entered the little fox demon who had just got the jewel.

Inuyasha looked down and waved his hand, "And you are?"

"Shippo, these two attacked me when I was running away from them," Shippo used his thumb to point to some of the wolf demons, "Then I used fox magic to transform into my other form so I could flee. I figure that's what this lady saw when she said she saw a light and some smoke."

"Okay, so why didn't you just go tell Sango or Miroku, or even _me_ if you had to?" Inuyasha asked stubbornly.

Kagome blushed and mumbled, "It never crossed my mind."

"And that would be because you didn't have a mind to begi- AAARG!" one wolf demon had managed to use his claws to cut through Inuyasha's clothes and get to his back. Inuyasha turned around and yelled, "Son of a bitch! Sankon Tessou!" Yellow beams came from Inuyasha's claws and struck down the wolf demon, adding yet one more to the massacre chart.

Kagome winced. She was starting to get nauseous.

"Kagome, we're leaving," Inuyasha announced.

"No she's not!" Souta yelled from her chest. Inuyasha glared at the boy, "Aren't you a little small to be giving me orders?"

"You're the reason Kagome left, aren't you! You're the reason Otou-san lied to all of us, saying that Kagome was devoured! You suck!" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, unmoved by Souta's tirade. (AN: Which, of course is odd since "you suck" is such an emotional, heart-wrenching phrase) "What do you want with Kagome!"

"Just what are you to Kagome, squirt?" Inuyasha wondered testily. "I'm her brother!" Souta screeched. That reached Inuyasha. He reared his head back and threw deadly eyes toward Kagome, "You were running away!"

"No, I wasn't Inuyasha! I thought there was a fire!" Kagome cried defensively. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and tried to turn away, but winced from the wound on his back. Kagome's eyes softened in concern, "You're injured."

"Nah! Really! I was wondering what the pain and the red stuff was about!" he shot. Kagome was about to make a harsh reply, but Inuyasha continued, "We're going back Kagome, _alone_. You're brother and his little friends aren't welcome at my castle."

"And why not, Inuya!" Kagome demanded. "Because I said so!" Inuyasha interjected, yelling. Kagome shut up, but looked very reluctant doing so. She finally asked, "What about the wolves?"

"We leave them here to rot," Inuyasha explained simply. Kagome was appalled, "_What! _That's disgusting! The entire mountain will smell like rancid meat. At least give them back to their tribe…"

"Oh yeah, that'll work, 'Here ya go. Sorry for killing a few and beating the living snot out of the rest of you, but here's the rest of your wolf buddies, no hard feelings!' We'll be attacked on the spot!" Inuyasha snorted.

"Fine, we'll take them with us," Kagome suggested, gesturing toward the wolf demons. Inuyasha winced at the thought and then yelled, "Are you insane or something!"

"Well, what was that delightful term you used to describe me…? Oh yes, I'm a _psychotic bitch_," Kagome recalled. "And doesn't this prove it?" Inuyasha declared.

"Inuyasha! Kagome!" the bickering two, glanced further into the woods to see Miroku and Sango running up to them. When they reached the group, Sango froze and shook her head as Miroku quickly clapped his hands together, beginning a prayer for the dead wolves.

"What happened?" Sango turned to Inuyasha.

"Some wolf demons attacked these brats and Kagome was with them," Inuyasha added some emphasis at the last part. Kagome pouted and folded her arms, "I wasn't trying to run away."

"Oh thank the gods, we were so afraid you left Kagome," Sango sighed.

"Are you alright little girl?" Miroku asked in the background. The group turned around to see Miroku attempting to comfort the little girl companion of Souta. She shook her head vigorously, "I don't like wolves."

"Of course not…" "My neck hurts…" Rin interrupted Miroku. Miroku pulled her hair out of the way and glanced at her neck; he gasped, "We need to get that treated."

"What!" Souta ran over to Rin, "What's wrong?" Miroku raised his eyebrows, but explained anyway, "She has a wolf bite on the back of her neck. We need to go to the castle to get it treated, Sango, call Kirara."

"Kirara?" Kagome asked Sango, but she wasn't listening, she just whistled and assured Miroku, "She's coming it will just take some time."

"What! What about my say in all of this!" Inuyasha whined. Kagome verbally slapped him, "Stop being such a stuffed, princely twit and get a heart!"

"Sir monk," Souta looked up to Miroku, "Will Rin be alright?" Miroku nodded assuredly, "Yes, we just need to get her to the palace. Have you any wounds…?" "No, my sister protected me," Souta explained. Miroku smiled, "So the little girl, Rin, is your sister?" "No, Kagome is."

Sango and Miroku shot their heads in Kagome's direction and she wailed, "It's not what it looks like!"

A lion-like fire cat suddenly flew out of the sky and landed in front of Sango. Kagome and the children squeaked from surprise. Sango hoisted Rin onto the fire cat and told her quietly to hold on tight.

'Is that Kirara?' Kagome wondered to herself, she asked Sango, "Could you also transport the wolf demons to the castle?"

"NO!" Rin, Shippo, Souta, and Inuyasha screamed in unison. Kirara looked a tad uncomfortable too.

"I'm sorry, Kagome, but it looks like nobody really wants me to…" Sango told her softly.

"You agree with me, don't you Miroku?" Kagome asked the frowning monk, "You're a Buddhist, right? You can't willingly leave a wounded creature out here, can you? It's against your religion…"

"I don't believe the great Buddha had demons in mind when he spoke of treating all animals with respect, especially after being attacked by one…" Miroku mentioned warily, "However, I'm sure it would be right thing to do…"

"Yay! See, Miroku agrees with me! Come on…" Kagome urged the rest of the group. (AN: I'm starting to believe that Kagome is starting to care less about the wolves and more about getting what she wants…)

"NO!" Rin shouted. Kagome turned surprised that it wasn't Inuyasha who screamed first. Rin's eyes started to water, "I don't want to ride with them…"

"Oh, you wouldn't be riding with them…" Sango explained, "You, Kagome's little brother, and the other little guy would have the first ride to the castle with me…" Rin looked away a little disappointed, "I don't want them near me…"

"We wouldn't let them in the same room as you," Kagome assured her. Rin thought a bit, "Alright, if they aren't anywhere near me…"

"Alright, I guess it's decided, the wolves will come with us, due to majority," Kagome smiled with pride because she got her way.

"Majority! It's four against four!" Inuyasha yelled, "Your brother, the squirt, Kirara and I don't want the wolves!"

"You wouldn't mind, would you Kirara?" Sango stroked her. Kirara shook her head and scratched the ground deep with her claws, implying she was strong enough to handle any wolves.

"Traitor!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Inuyasha," Kagome sighed, "It isn't that we want them with us. It's really just the right thing to do. And if we do take care of them, then they wouldn't try to kill the people who saved them, will they?"

"That's what _you_ think…"

"I think you're a paranoid twit."

Oo (AN: I understand that all of you want to strangle me now, because I just had Kagome Save Kouga… Sorry!)

"_You wanted to see me Izayoi-sama?" Kikyo asked gently stepping into a lovely garden filled with many types of rare and common, colorful flowers. Kaede was at her side, lowering her head and acting polite._

_Izayoi stood up gracefully and nodded, "Yes, we haven't really had a chance to talk. I wanted to commend you for brilliant work on Tenseiga, the sword of the heavens. Giving it a soul of its own was quite ingenious."_

"_Thank you my lady, however, what was the real reason you wanted to talk to me?" Kikyo smiled coyly._

_Izayoi laughed politely and turned to two human servants that accompanied her, "Might you leave us, please?" The two nodded and rushed back inside the castle. _

"_I must say that I was curious when my lord mentioned something about priestesses coming to this palace to improve two demon's swords… I understand you improving Tenseiga, it helps humans, but Tetsuaiga? What are you planning to do to it?" the princess wondered, "All my lord would tell me was it would keep Inuyasha's demon blood in check. But I can't picture you going to all that trouble to make a sword that could hurt humans so easily…"_

"_You're quite observant your highness, but I believe the lord forgot to mention something that he also wants me to do for Tetsuaiga," Kikyo smiled a little broader, "He wants me to make it impossible for Tetsuaiga to be wieldable until he uses it only to _protect_ humans." Izayoi smiled; a truly dazzling sight to behold due to her beauty. _

"_Are you satisfied, princess? I believe I just spoiled you lord's surprise…" Kikyo mused._

"_Yes thank you," Izayoi turned and walked along a little stone path. She heard quiet footsteps follow her. She glanced behind herself to see Kikyo softly striding to catch up with her, and Kaede trailing not too far behind. Before Izayoi could ask, Kikyo explained, "A princess should always be chaperoned." Izayoi nodded and continued walking as she informed Kikyo, "I'm going to check on my most prized flowers right now. Perhaps you've heard of them, they are called Yamaibara. One of my servants picked some a while back and they haven't grown back. I'm always hoping that one day I'll see one more bud than last time, instead of having only three bushels of three year after year."_

_They arrived at the small, pathetic bush. Izayoi adored them, and thought since Kikyo wasn't saying anything, she must have thought the bush too weak and unattractive to be thought beautiful. But Kikyo crouched down and touched one of the buds of the plant, Izayoi thought she must have just imagined it, but the rose seemed to open a bit more at her touch. Kikyo turned to Izayoi and informed her, "I can make this bush become much more vibrant, if you wish it mistress."_

_Izayoi tilted her head in confusion, "Really? How Kikyo-sama?"_

"_I know a western spell. A very old one, though. I learned it from a Portuguese sailor who stole a scroll about it in Greece. He had it translated to Portuguese for him and I ended up copying it in katakana for myself. It's difficult for me to pronounce and I was told only one case where it worked. But I've tried it before on a snake and it worked so… well, I'm drawling on about this, I'll just tell you the name I gave it, _the hydra effect_," Kikyo summed up finally._

"_Hai-du-ra?" Izayoi pronounced slowly. _

"_I can't pronounce the entire name for it well, so I just named it after the case where I was told it worked. Very long ago there was a demon who was cursed by the spell, well, actually blessed I believe. He came across a mighty man who tried to slay him by cutting off his head, however, due to the spell, his head grew back, along with two others. He, of course, died in the end though, by being stabbed in the heart. But he still gave the strong man a run for his money, ne?" Kikyo grinned._

"_Basically, hime-sama, the hydra effect will work that every time you pick a flower from your Yamaibara bush, three more will grow in its place," Kaede chimed, finally joining in the conversation._

"_Would you really do that for me miko-sama's? I'm willing to pay you more for that," Izayoi offered hopefully._

"_That won't be necessary Princess," Kikyo nodded, "We'll be more than willing to do it for you, for free. As thanks for hosting us so well over the week."_

_Izayoi smiled and bowed, "Thank you. You're very generous. It really would be nice if you two could stay after you finished the swords."_

"_I think that would be nice," Kikyo agreed quietly._

Oo

Gee guys, feelin' loved. Three reviews… ;.; Maybe I'm just spoiled, but that seems like such a small amount. ;.; Maybe it's because evil fanfiction isn't sending out reminders for stories and reviews (at least on my and my friends computers) Could you tell me if you have this problem. Wait a second… if you have this problem then you wouldn't know the read my newest chapter and wouldn't get the message in the first place…. I better stop this before my head explodes…

Psycho: Awww…. That was a sweet review. You must have been in a good mood that day! Yes, all hail me! BUUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'll get to your story soon! Promise!

Demonic kitten: Yay! I finished a decently long chapter within a week:does tribal dance around computer: Yay! I hope you liked this chapter! And thanks for reviewing!

Mad-Manga: Yay! More questions! I like answering questions!

What is Kikyo's religion: Shinto Buddhism! Yay! That's a good religion!

What is Miroku's religion: Buddhism all the way; he's a vegetarian!

Isn't Miroku supposed to have a crush on Sango? Or are you going to leave Sango all by her lonesome: Of course not! I'm adding Miroku/Sango fluff in this story! I personally think they are the cutest pairing, even if I write more Inuyasha/Kagome then theirs. What made you think that I was leaving Sango all by her lonesome? I'll correct it!

Is Kagome Kikyo's reincarnation: No, I think you may have the story a little confused. This doesn't take place in present day. This takes place in the 1500's. It isn't quite as similar to Beast as you thought. :) (I think that sort of explains your sixth question… and your seventh…) Anyway, all of what is in flash back mode, took place six years ago. So, technically, I think Kagome was about 9 when the little Kikyo/Inuyasha thing was going on. Do you get it now? That must have been really confusing for you. O.o

Kikyo seems… SO NICE: Yeah, I based this Kikyo on what I think Kikyo acted like when she was alive. I'm hoping she wasn't as cold alive as she is dead. (That'd kind of suck if she was….)

I really like all of your questions! Thanks for all of the little compliments at the bottom of your review too! They're really special to me. I think it was your review (and of course psycho's and demonic kitten's) that really inspired me to get this next chapter done! Thanks a lot!


	8. Chiryo Suru

Whoa. Go Mad-Manga. That was a looooonnnngggggg review.

Chapitre 8

Chiryo Suru (To Heal)

By, Auroras-flame

Kagome wrapped a bandage around Kouga's arm quietly. Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango and everybody else was transported into the castle and Kouga still hadn't gained consciousness. She had bandaged up all of the wolves wounds except his. She shuddered; wasn't it obvious why she waited to do him so long. He was going to say something right before Inuyasha came in and rescued her. She turned to glance at Inuyasha who was glaring at Kouga viciously, just waiting to pounce on him and stab him to death the second he got up. Kagome giggled to herself, a faithful guard dog to the end. He turned to her quickly, eyes narrowed, "What's so funny?"

"You are," Kagome chimed. She then noticed the small puddle of blood Inuyasha was sitting in. She rose, "That's right! You were injured. You should be treated…" She finished up Kouga's bandages and hurried towards Inuyasha. The closer she got the more uncomfortable he seemed to get. Kagome ordered, "Take off your shirt so I can treat the wound."

"What? No way!" Inuyasha pushed himself back toward the wall. Kagome rolled her eyes, "Come on, Inuyasha. You're smearing blood all over the wooden floors. You need to be treated. Now take off your shirt!"

"No! Get away from me!" Inuyasha barked back. Kagome growled, "Stop acting like a little kid and take your shirt off so I can bandage you! Gods, it isn't like I'm going to sexually molest you!"

"Get away from me! Don't touch me!" Inuyasha inched his way toward the shoji. He quickly opened it and turned to dash away from Kagome. Kagome stuck her head out the shoji and screamed, "Really Inuyasha it isn't like I have cooties or anything! Jerk!"

Kagome flipped around and crossed her arms. Just what was _that_ all about? Her eyes traveled to Kouga. She wondered what would happen once he woke up…

Oo

Inuyasha dashed the stairs by his room; however, he paused when he saw Miroku waiting patiently at the base. Inuyasha was confused by the questioning smile that Miroku was giving him. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, "What?"

"Did you rescue Kagome-sama?" Miroku questioned.

Inuyasha's ear twitched in realization. He quickly checked his wrist. Four red scratch marks remained. He sneered, "I did, but it isn't working…"

"Did she tell you she was thankful?"

"No."

"Then perhaps you might bring it up with her next time you see her…"

"Ha! As if. She's all mad at me right now…"

"What? Why? What could you have possibly have done after saving her that would trigger that?"

"I ran away from her."

"Why?"

"Because she tried to bandage my wound."

"Oh… I see… Wound?"

Inuyasha turned around lifted his shirt high enough so Miroku could see the gloriously happy combination of dark red, wet blood and rusty brown, dry blood. He turned back around in time to see Miroku blanch from the sight. Miroku winced, "Well, you _should_ get that fixed."

"Thanks for offering."

Oo (AN: If you aren't confused you must be a mind reader… or sufficiently insane)

Kouga awoke on something soft. Definitely softer than the hay he felt at home. There was also a natural warmth on his face, from the sun undoubtedly… but he was far from the sun in his cave. He opened his eyes, only to shut them tightly again and grunt in minor pain. Way too bright… stupid sun… He turned his head away from the light and focused on the wall of a room. Why was he in a room?

He bit his tongue as he remembered last night. There was the brat, the Shikon, the girl, and then… oh yes, that hanyou. He sat up and glanced at his arm where he was wounded. It was bandaged? Who would…?

The shoji slid open and he quickly became defensive. He had to be ready for anything here. He smelled every one that he was preying on last night and more. To lose his guard now would just be stupid.

A woman in a pink and green cotton kimono walked into the room with a pot of tea and a cup. She narrowed her eyes but looked more sleepy than annoyed to see him awake. She mumbled, "So you're awake."

"Who are you," Kouga snapped suspiciously as she approached him pouring the tea. She sat down right in front of him and flicked his nose with her finger. Kouga quickly covered his nose, "Ita! That hurt wench!"

"Don't bite the hand that spared you," she snapped, then yawned. Kouga looked at his bandaged arm and asked curiously, "So, _you_ bandaged my arm?"

"No," the lady scoffed, "Kagome did. I was asleep the second we got back here."

"Ka-go-me?" Kouga sounded it out. Who the hell was he?

"She was the one whose life you threatened… ringing any bells?" the lady wondered.

Kouga looked upward in remembrance, "Our yeah, she was the wench who could see the…" he stopped, "Shit! Where's that little brat!" He quickly checked his arming, the jewel was gone. That kid must have it.

"You aren't permitted to see any of the children you attacked last night. Anyway, don't you want to know about your comrades conditions?" she asked dully. Kouga stopped being interested in the jewel. When it came to priority, his tribe came first.

"What happened after I was knocked out?" he asked warily. She replied forwardly, "Six of your wolves died, and one member of your pack. Two are here, but too injured to move, they are conscious though. The rest of your tribe ran away."

"Six _died_?" Kouga yelled, "That mutt no doubt! What was his name…? Inuyasha!"

"Yeah, here, have some tea, and go to sleep, you just woke up and from what I know, you never want to get up after you just woke up. Kagome will be here shortly with bandages. I hope you have an apology for her," the lady mentioned, "She was the one who convinced everyone to spare you and the rest of your wounded tribe."

Kouga looked at her quizzically, "Why?"

"Beats me, but I voted we rescue you too so you better be nice to me," she snapped. She yawned again, "I'm going back to sleep…" She stood up and walked towards the shoji, and without any other words, simply left.

Kouga lay there with his tea. He took a sip awkwardly. He didn't exactly drink tea all that often. He found the tea to be bitter, grassy, and way too hot. He swallowed reluctantly and put the cup down. Note to self: Do not drink the tea they offer you.

He picked up noises outside. He tried to follow them but it was a little difficult.

"-awake?"

"Yeah- wond- if he- try an- funny."

"I hope not."

The closer the voices got the more comprehensible they became. It was that lady's voice and another familiar voice… feminine… must be that chick from last night. He grumbled and glanced at his arm. The idea of being pampered and treated wasn't exactly doing wonders for his masculinity; especially by some weak wench with magic eyes.

"So are you sure you want to go in there alone?"

"Yeah, I wanna ask him some stuff."

"Alright, I'll be in the next room. So all you need to do is scream really loud when you need me I suppose…"

"Gee, super."

The shoji opened to reveal the stoic face of that girl who saw the Shikon. She mentioned friendlily, "You're up."

"Yeaaahhh…" Kouga nodded, wary. He wasn't a total fool, they probably wanted something from him or were going to use him as ransom or something stupid like that… something _human_.

"How do you like your tea?" she mentioned as she glanced towards it. Kouga immediately suspected poison and asked her sharply, "Why?"

"Well, uhh… I… I just… I guess I just wanted to know or… something…" Kagome stammered. Kouga noted that and assumed the worst. He glared at her, "Why didn't you just leave me to die?"

"Huh? Well, because it wouldn't be the right thing to do…" she stuttered. Kouga rolled his eyes, "Oh, isn't that original? Look, I may be a wolf demon, but I do know about humans. You're all greedy and deceitful; you probably want something from me or my tribe. So why didn't you just kill me off? It would spare time."

Kagome bit her lower lip and stated clearly, "You can go home with your men after they heal… we really don't want anything from you…" Kouga gave her a long stare. It _seemed_ truthful. He snorted, if they did want something, he'd find out soon enough. He laid down on his side with his back toward her, figuring she would leave.

"Why did you let my little brother go?" he heard her whisper barely.

Refusing to turn over he grunted, "What the squirt? Didn't I explain that to everyone? Women don't lie when there are young involved…" "Aren't we all lying and deceitful?" Kouga smirked. Damn strait you were. He sat up and told her strait, "Want to know the real reason? I figured you knew where the jewel was so I was hoping to get in your graces by supposedly sparing your runt."

Kagome's eyes narrowed; something Kouga really didn't expect. So, was she showing her true side now, or somethin'? She stated, "I really didn't know where that pink thing was, you know." Kouga's eyebrows raised; so it was true, she did sense it. She continued, "I didn't look towards that gem because you "supposedly saved" my brother either. I was only reminded of the pink light when you mentioned it."

She didn't say anymore, she just sat there, waiting for him to do something. Kouga scowled, she was just waiting for him to reply, to say something like 'gee, whoops! I feel so stupid now!' Pah, you wish. So he growled, "Where are my men?"

"In the next room," her glare softened a bit, "They're conscious. They're quite worried about you too. Would you like to go see them?" Kouga was moderately surprised by offer. This woman was either soft hearted or soft headed. He was aiming for the second one. He nodded his head. She got up, "This way please."

Oo

"So the wolf's awake, eh?" Inuyasha mentioned during lunch. Sango nodded, "He's a rude little bugger. I think I flicked him on the nose…"

"You_ think_?" Miroku questioned curiously.

"Hey, don't expect me to remember things that happened just after I woke up," Sango warned as she took a sip of her tea.

"He seemed to like visiting his men though," Kagome declared, "His mood really seemed to lighten up."

"Well, he can stay all lit up upstairs," Shippo snorted, "I don't want any of them anywhere near me." Nods of agreement came from Souta as Rin just said, "Yeah," do to the fact that her neck was all bandaged up.

"Kagome, could you pass me the tea pot?" Inuyasha asked her. Kagome glanced at the teapot right next to her and grunted, "I don't think you want me to, Inuyasha. You wouldn't want to catch my cooties."

"Good gods woman, all I want is some tea," Inuyasha barked, "Anyway, I saw the job you did on the wolves, bandaging wise, I want to fell my back after it's bandaged up."

"You want to feel your back! What if I chucked a cow at it! Would you feel enough of your back then!"

"Did… something happen?" Sango whispered to Miroku as the two bickered. Miroku nodded, "I believe that Kagome-sama took it personally when Inuyasha refused her services to bandage him." Sango frowned, "They're fighting over something so trivial? That doesn't sound like Kagome…" Miroku smiled, "I think Inuyasha might have phrased his refusal wrong…"

"Ah."

Oo

Kouga snorted as he sat by his men. He could hear the yelling from downstairs. He and his men weren't permitted to go downstairs to eat _because the children were there_. Whiny little bastards….

"Kouga, do you really think they're going to just let us go?" the wolf demon closest to him asked.

"What do _you_ think Ginta?" Kouga sneered. 'Humans are all the same… even just half of one,' he thought to himself remembering to include Inuyasha.

"But what of the girl who saw the Sacred Jewel?" the second wolf demon, Hakkaku, wondered. Kouga's eyes narrowed in thought as his tribe member continued, "We were all going to kill her, but she spared us with seemingly no hidden agendas… I mean, is it possible that she's just a nice human?"

Kouga bothered to give it some consideration. She _did_ let him see his men, so chances were that she really didn't care if they conspired… or maybe she was stupid enough to trust them or something…

"Hey Kouga, just what were you going to say to the human girl after you kicked our brethren away?" Ginta asked, curiously.

"Huh? Oh, I was probably going to eat her, you know what they say," Kouga laid back against the wall nonchalantly, "If you eat a talented human you achieve their gifts or attributes. If anyone stole the shard away from us and I had that sort of ability, we'd be able to hunt them down, no sweat."

"Ah, I see, good thing you didn't though," Kouga raised an eyebrow at Ginta who continued on foolishly, "because that half dog would be even madder…"

Kouga punched his comrade on the check. He recovered quickly however and exclaimed, "Hey! I'm an injured wolf!"

Oo

"_So, you're off the Totosai's tomorrow" Noroubido mentioned. _

"_Yes, I'll be gone for just a little bit though," Kikyo smiled, "Then I'll be strait back to work. I want to finish that sword quite desperately. If I can get the information I want from Totosai, I may be even able to finish Inuyasha's sword one week ahead of schedule…"_

_Noroubido cracked a smile, "Are you and Inuyasha-sama now on non-suffix terms now?"_

_Kikyo blushed, "Noroubido-sama… Inuyasha…-sama and I are now friends. Which brings me to what I wanted to ask you… May I and Kaede… be permitted to stay one more week than we originally planned? Izayoi-sama, Inutaisho-sama, and even Inuyasha invited me to stay here longer…"_

_Noroubido snorted, "Well, this isn't my palace, why are you asking me?"_

"_I want you to tell my father…" Kikyo trailed off, "please." _

_The monk raised an eyebrow, this was quite out of character from the Kikyo he saw… He nodded anyway. Kikyo smiled… "Thank you so much."_

_Oo_

_Inuyasha gazed out the window of his room. He was on the top floor of the palace. It used to be just there for storage, but he started taking a liking to it when he was about six so his parents removed all of the random stuff out of the top room and moved all of his junk into this room. Outside of his window was his mother's garden. He could see the pure white Yamaibara blooming from their bush. No longer were they the pathetic buds, but plentiful blooming flowers, continuously growing. He immediately thought of Kikyo, and sat up. She had come back from Totosai's mountain just yesterday; and strangely enough on a three-eyed cow that his father seemed to have a history with. However, the second she landed, she went strait to her room. He didn't even have the chance to say 'hi.'_

_He walked out of his door and strait down the stairs… and then down the next flight, and then down the next flight until he reached the first floor. Then only a stroll down one hall, right turn, a skip down another sub-hall, a direct left, and poof! He found himself in front of Kikyo's room. He felt uncomfortable, and was about to knock, but he quickly noticed a small glow through the paper shoji. He froze. What was that!_

_He slid open the shoji and found Kikyo bowing her head and murmuring something before she jumped and glared at Inuyasha scornfully, "You really do need to learn how to knock, Inuyasha… Wouldn't you be ashamed of yourself if I was in the middle of something, like let's say, doing the finishing touches on your sword?"_

"_Oh, I'm sorry! I just saw a light and- you're nearly finished…?" Inuyasha's face fell. She hurried off to her room so quickly so she could finish the bloody sword and leave immediately after!_

"_Yes," Kikyo smiled, "Isn't that great? You can finally have your very own sword and you may…" "That bites."_

_Kikyo frowned and her face turned quizzical, "Do you not want the sword I improved?" Inuyasha shook his head vigorously, "No! No! That's not it! It's just… then you'll leave right?"_

_Kikyo, much to Inuyasha's puzzlement, started to giggle. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, what was so funny? Kikyo shook her head, "Inuyasha, I'm not going anywhere, not directly after I finish your sword anyway… I asked Noroubido-sama if he could write a letter to my father requesting I stay here longer. I'm not leaving right after I make the swords, or in 9 days, I'm staying for 16 more days."_

_Inuyasha blinked, "Really…?" he smiled, "That's great… One question though," Inuyasha glanced at the sword in front of Kikyo, "Why is my sword all rusty and shrimpy?"_

_Kikyo laughed, "This is only the portable version of it, not its true form. It's quite magnificent in its true form; I think you'll like it."_

"_Oh really?" Inuyasha sat down beside her, and asked blushing, "Is there anyway I can help?"_

"_Hm? With the sword?" Kikyo murmured, "I don't know. I'm purifying it so only humans and you can touch it, and only you can harness it. It's the very last step and since you are a half demon… I don't know…Well, I know! You can pray, Inuyasha!"_

"_Huh? To who exactly?" Inuyasha wondered._

"_To the kami of course," Kikyo chimed, "You can pray alongside me to them. Pray to them to give your sword power, but use pure thoughts, tell them all the good you'll do with the sword. Otherwise, they might deny your request."_

"_The good?" Inuyasha mumbled to himself. What kind of 'good' could he do with a sword? He heard Kikyo say beside him, "Ready?"_

_Kikyo clapped her hands together and mumbled soothing and peaceful word to the sword. The sword started to glow from the purification. Inuyasha, confused about the 'good' thing just started to pray._

_He declined his head and thought to himself, or rather, to the kami, 'Okay, if you will give my sword power… I will… donate to the nearest shrine every month…' Inuyasha sighed. That was so lame… not to mention a lie… If there were kami, they could probably see right through his act. He continued, 'Okay, I would… use it… for good reasons… I guess…' This was way too stupid for words. What would he use a sword for, really? Was there anybody except Sesshomaru (and occasionally Miroku) that he would particularly want to use it on? Not really… he glanced at Kikyo, still praying her heart out, and then it hit him. He continued hurriedly, 'If I had a powerful sword, I would use it to protect Kikyo.'_

_The sword suddenly burst out in a bright light and Kikyo put a hand on his shoulder, "Inuyasha, you can stop praying. It's over. Your sword is finished. Sooner than I thought too, whatever you were praying, it appeased the kami greatly."_

_Inuyasha blushed deeply. It wasn't _really_ him was it?_

Oo

Kagome went for Kouga's arm, but he quickly pulled it away. Kagome raised an eyebrow as Kouga informed her, "I can do it myself you know." Kagome clapped condescendingly, "How very good for you."

Kouga sneered and cut through one layer of bandages and easily ripped off the rest. Kagome peered at his arm, there was a small scar, but it was clearly insignificant. Kagome shrugged, "Alright, you're healed. You can leave now if you want."

Kouga glared at her, "You really think I'm leaving without my men or the jewel?"

Kagome sighed, "No, I suppose not." Kagome just sat there for a while, awkwardly.

"Aren't you leaving?" Kouga wondered.

"No, I came in here as an excuse to get away. Your men are asleep in the other room so I can't say I'm bandaging them," Kagome explained.

"Get away from what? Dog-face?" Kouga asked, not really caring.

"Everyone," Kagome sighed, "And since I can't runaway, I'm hiding, the fact it's by you is only cruel fate."

"Why can't you run away? You obviously don't like it here," Kouga appeared somewhat interested now.

"I'm a prisoner," Kagome told him simply.

Kouga raised an eyebrow in interest, but then his face turned into disgust, "Oh please don't tell me you're the mutt's sex-sla-"

"NO!" Kagome cut him off, "I don't know why I'm here. You've noticed the Yamaibara outside right? My father was coming back from China and he didn't get me what I wanted, so he went to get me some Yamaibara, but Inuyasha found him picking them and threatened my father. My father struck an agreement with Inuyasha saying that if I come here, my father could live. So here I am, I've been living here for nearly two weeks, I think. I really don't even know why I'm here, but they treat me like some sort of a combination a prisoner and guest… I'm just really confused by it all."

Kouga sat in thought for a bit, but then started to laugh. Kagome glared venomously at Kouga for finding amusement in her sadness and really had the urge to hit him upside the head. He finally spoke, "Gees! You really don't want anything from us do you?"

"You're just _now_ realizing this?" Kagome growled, which made Kouga laugh more. He did some sort of peace-treaty thing and swished around her hair as if she were a little kid and declared, "You aren't so bad. Sorry for being a _jerk_."

Now Kagome really wanted to hit him upside the head.

Oo

OKAY PEOPLES! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY ON SUNDAY, AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BE A REALLY NICE BIRTHDAY GIFT? (I bet you're dying to know…) A REVIEW! IT WOULD MAKE UBER SUPER MUCHO HAPPY! PLEASE REVIEW!

Mad 4 Manga: So many questions… so many answers….

What's the difference between Shinto Buddhism and just plain Buddhism? **Well, Buddhism is the belief that you are reincarnated and visit Nirvana after death, and you shouldn't eat or harm animals because they may be your dead relatives reincarnated. Shinto is the belief that there is a spirit in everything, rocks, plants, animals… and that these spirits should be worshipped and respected so they bless you, or else they will wreak havoc upon you and your family! Oh joy! So, Shinto Buddhism is just a combination of the both.**

Why is Kagome more concerned about getting her way than helping people? **Three words: Rabid Kouga Haters. I've confronted them in my past… they scare me… a lot….**

So if the flashbacks took place 6 years ago, Kagome was 9 at the time she would be 15 now... But Inuyasha was probably about 15? So now he would be about...21?  
DANG! that's a BIG age difference! **Okay, you know how in some fics, demons age a lot slower than humans? I usually don't like doing that with Inuyasha, but I needed to this time. I said that he looked 15 about six years ago, how old he _really_ is I'll leave you to ponder to yourselves. But when he meets Kagome, he looks about 16, not that much of an age difference. The reason I had to put in the slow aging thing was because if I wanted Kagome and Inuyasha to look the same age, but for him to actually get a second glance from Kikyo six years ago, the slow aging was sort of a necessity. **

How old _is_ Inuyasha? **I really don't know… I'll leave you to imagine… (But he looks 15 six years ago, and 16 now)**

Is there a curse on Inuyasha? If so does it affect the rest of the palace? **There is a curse on Inuyasha, but it doesn't affect anybody else (sort of… can't quite explain) So Inuyasha gets full blast of it. Nehaha.**

How old are Sango and Miroku? **Between 19 and 20. I think it says that in the third chapter… I don't really know though**

Were Inuyasha (and other people…) the only people who were in the castle before Kagome came along? **No, the italicized text six years ago took place in the castle. There is another palace though, and I'm sure you all know who's there… (If you aren't sure… think brotherly love)**

If Miroku is a Buddhist...don't they have like strict moral codes about marrying and stuff?  
So...wouldn't he be violating those by acting like his usual perverted self? **Nehaha! Yeah, the monks and priests do. But I just don't think Miroku cares. That's where the irony is in Miroku, he's a perverted monk.**

How old was Kikyo in the flashbacks? **I'm guessing in the 16-17 region.**

Will there be any correlation between the rosary around Inuyasha's neck in the series and something in the story? **I don't think so, if I added something about it already I'm going to be pretty embarrassed… (Sometimes I forget what I write)**

...I am still a little confused about the whole '1500's' thing... could you give me some details from that era?...It really could be set in the modern times...except for the living demons... what about the pictures? And the wallet. ... **The 1500's is the same time period in the series on Inuyasha's side of the well. So you probably know more than you think. As for the wallet and pictures, that's from Beast silly! (I remember!) That takes place in modern times…**

Help me out here...I am getting your story and another one confused... What is Kagome's dad's profession? **I know, you just mixed up Beast and my story. Frankly, I'm flattered. (Beast is good!) And Kagome's Dad's profession is traveler and merchant. He trades stuff and travels all around the world… **

Just what have Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango been doing up on that mountain for 6 years strait? **Ate, slept, waited, fought. Yup… that's about it…**

Will you be incorporating any hidden themes...like having Kagome and/or Sango imbued with tid-bits of wisdom to give to the two male clod-poles ? Will it be vice versa? Will they both have their own piece to say? Or is this not going in that direction? **:Screams: NO! Not the themes! They haunt me in my sleep! (Has an evil English teacher) But seriously, I really don't know. My mind is entirely blank and I tend to make things up as I go… so if I have any wisdom I want spoken out through my characters, then that would probably mean I got pissed off that day or something… **

Where's the Sango/Miroku fluff? (Wasn't exactly what was written, but close enough…) **I definitely plan to add Miroku and Sango fluff in this. They are my favorite couple to watch and read about so I want to add them into my story too.**

Okay, thanks for your long detailed list of questions! I like answering stuff. Oh, and the ne thing. You're right, ne doesn't _exactly_ mean "huh". I haven't seen it mean "no" before but it still doesn't quite mean "huh". So, what I meant was something more like desune. Which sort of adds a ",isn't it?" quality to the sentence. Like: Chotto samui desune?" means "It's a little cold, huh?" As "Chotto samui desu" means "It's a little cold." Do you sort of get it?

Priestessmykala: Thanks for your review! No, Kagome isn't Kikyo's reincarnation in this fic. I'm thinking of having a relation between each other, but I'm still tossing the idea around.

Demonic kitten: I think stuff between Inuyasha and Kagome will start next chapter actually… I hope so anyway… I'm a little shaky on writing fluff.

Serra-owns-Inuyasha: Awwww, thanks. Want to spoil me again :nudge nudge: My birthday's comin' up you know.


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm sorry Souta, but I can't leave," Kagome avoided her little brother's eyes.

"Why not? I came all the way over here to save you! Why do you need to stay!" Souta said sharply. It was midday. Souta told Kagome he wanted to talk to her alone during lunch. She brought him up to her room and now was sitting by her window looking down at the Yamaibara.

"I have to stay… for Otou-san," Kagome explained calmly.

"Forget Dad!" Souta shot.

"Souta!" Kagome shot back finally turning to her little brother. Souta flinched at his sister's snap. She sighed and turned back to the window, "I understand that you came a long way to get me Souta, but you're going to go back to the shrine, and you're going back without me. Otou-san didn't bring me here out of selfish desire to live; he brought me here so he could see his family and you."

"He's full of it!" Souta walked to Kagome's chair and made Kagome look him strait in the eye, "If Dad had any guts he would have died rather than trade you in. Don't you know how worried Grampa is and how grief stricken Okaa-san is? From the second she heard that you had been 'killed' she was weeping non-stop. You gotta come back-!"

Kagome stood up and towered over her little brother and said, "You keep on saying that my faked death was so horrible and how everybody is so worried about me- what about you!" Souta froze. Kagome continued, "What note did you leave to assure them that you'd be back safe and sound? If you think that losing me was bad for Mama, think how she must feel now thinking that both of her children will never come back to her! Souta, coming here was much more foolish than whatever Otou-san has done!"

Souta had his head bowed as Kagome scolded him. When she finished she waited for some sort of reply, but none came. Kagome became worried, "Souta-kun?" He lifted up his head and she saw him biting his lower lip with tears streaming down his face. Kagome's expression softened and she pulled Souta into her arms. She hugged him tightly and she heard Souta stutter into her arms, "Please come back Kagome. We all miss you."

"I miss you guys too. But I can't abandon Sango and Inuyasha and Miroku. I don't know why they want me here, but they do. I know you want me too, but I have to stay, okay?" Kagome explained.

She felt Souta shift his head on her chest. He sniffed, "There sure are a lot of Yamaibara." Kagome looked down at the over flowing sea of white, "Yes, there are."

O.o

Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha sat outside Kagome's door as she and Souta talked.

"Well," Miroku said, "I suppose that means she didn't try to run away after all."

"Indeed," Sango agreed, "I guess we can start trusting her a little more, huh?"

"What do you think Inuyasha?" Miroku turned to his hanyou companion.

Inuyasha sat with his arms and legs crossed, "I have to admit, I'm surprised she wasn't lying about not running away," he paused, "but I still don't fully trust her. For all we know she could know we're out here or something…"

Sango knocked him upside the head, "Come on Inuyasha! Her little brother is crying in there!"

"Hey! I'm just saying-!" Inuyasha got interrupted.

"Is someone out there?"

Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha all turned to Kagome's room in unison and wasted no time getting out of sight when she came out and checked if anyone was there.

O.o

Rin watched Shippo fiddle with his pink jewel for a while and finally decided to get his attention, "Shippo…"

"Yea," he looked up from the stone.

"Just what is that stone you keep playing with?"

"This?" Shippo held up the jewel, "It's a powerful jewel my father found. He got killed by some other demons trying to get it, but I managed to get a hold of it and I ran away with it."

"Did those wolves kill your father?" Rin asked lightly touching the back of her neck.

"No," Shippo shook his head slowly, "They were different demons. I don't know where they are now. Dead, hopefully."

"Oh."

There was an awkward pause between the two children.

"How long do you plan on staying here?" Shippo asked.

"I don't really know. I don't want to go back to my village, but I don't want to stay around the wolves either. I might visit Souta-kun's home… if he'll let me that is," Rin said, "How about you? How long are you staying?"

"I really don't know," Shippo sighed, "If I leave, those wolves will maul me. That dog guy and those other people are pretty much the only reason I'm not being slashed to shreds right now."

"Hmm, what if you gave the jewel to Kagome-san and the others? Then you wou…" Rin was cut off by Shippo, "No way! This is the only thing that I have left of my dad!"

"Alright, I'm sorry," Rin apologized hastily, "It's just that it seems that jewel just causes you trouble and Inuyasha-kun and the others will be able to take care of it."

Shippo huffed and looked down at the stone, "I don't trust the dog with the jewel. He'd probably just use it for something power related… Maybe the Kagome girl… Not that I'm considering it," he added.

O.o

At dinner, it was announced that Souta would be going home the next day and would be bringing Rin along with him. Inuyasha had devised a plan for what Souta and Rin should tell his family and the rest of the town. Kagome watched as Inuyasha went over his lines with him, it would have been amusing if Souta didn't look s upset and they weren't talking about her 'death'.

"So what happened to your sister?" Inuyasha asked folding his arms.

"She was eaten by wolves, just like Father said," Souta said with disappointment dripping from every syllable, "I found her bones and brought them back to the village where I gave her a proper burial."

"Good, and did you see any wolves?" Inuyasha continued.

Souta looked up at the ceiling where the wolves slept just on the other side, "No. No wolves."

"Excellent, no more questions should be asked then," Inuyasha took a bite of his food, "We just gotta hope that your father didn't flip out after you left and they're sending an angry mob here now." He said this with a strangely calm face.

Souta looked up at Kagome, "Ane-san, what should I say if Dad asks about you? He knows you didn't get eaten by wolves."

Kagome smiled weakly down at her little brother, "Tell him I'm alright and that I love him."

Souta gave a confused look, and Kagome might have been imagining it but she sensed a hint of anger as well. "Tell him you love him?" Souta said quizzically.

"Well, I don't want you to tell him I'm dead," Kagome said with a small chuckle, "Then he'd _really_ send an angry mob."

"You still love Dad?" Souta seemed to not be grasping the subject.

"Of course, he's my father," Kagome said with all seriousness, "Souta-kun, you can't tell me you no longer love Papa."

Souta didn't say anything. There was an awkward silence in the room. Kagome looked around to see that everyone, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Rin, and even Shippo had stopped eating to watch the two siblings.

"What?" Kagome asked them all. She heard Souta (who sat next to her) pick up his chopsticks and start eating again. As if it were a sign of safety, everyone continued their meal. Kagome glanced between everyone's faces. They all looked as if they had been put in an awkward situation and were embarrassed to look at each other.

What have they to be embarrassed about?

Kagome rose with her dishes, "I'm going to bring up food to Kouga now." Right before she exited the room Souta spoke up, "Kagome, can I speak with you after you're done?"

Kagome sighed and smiled softly, "Hai, Souta-kun."

She went into the kitchen and retrieved some cooked vegetables and rice for Kouga and his men. She put it on a tray and took it upstairs. When he opened the shoji to Kouga's room she found Hakkaku and Ginta in there with him.

Hakkaku looked up and sniffed the air, "Is that our food?"

"Yes," Kagome nodded as she set down the tray in front of the wolves, "Vegetables and rice."

"Awww… not vegetables again," Ginta wrinkled his nose. Kouga hit him upside the head as Kagome explained, "I'm sorry, but we can't exactly get meat from this mountain, you know."

All three wolves picked up their rice bowls and started to eat, leaving the vegetables untouched. Kagome tilted her head and questioned, "Hakkaku, Ginta, why are you in Kouga's room?"

All three wolves paused for a second, but Kouga seemed to be the only one to recover before Kagome suspected something. Hakkaku mumbled, "Just… uh… seeing our leader… and stuff…"

"Yup yup!" Ginta agreed quickly, "You know how we love our leader, Kouga here! Can't get enough of him!"

Kagome narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Oh really?" She sighed. It was kind of an obvious lie, but what could she do to make them talk? It'd probably be better just to let it go.

"We were planning on how to get the Shikon Jewel."

The two wolves and Kagome all stared at Kouga. Hakkaku and Ginta buried their faces in their hands as she pondered for a moment, "Shiko- oh, you mean that pink stone that Shippo-kun has?"

"Yes, we were planning how to steal it from the kid," Kouga took a bite of his rice, "I wouldn't suppose you'd like to brainstorm with us?"

"No, I wouldn't," Kagome said. Kouga shrugged. She bit her lower lip, "I hope you know that telling me wasn't the best thing to do. I'm going to take extra care of Shippo now and I have half a mind to tell Inuyasha."

"It's not like we want to hurt the kid," Kouga said (Kagome didn't notice Hakkaku and Ginta giving each other confused looks), "We just want the jewel. That's all. Is that really so bad?"

Kagome lowered her head in thought, only to snap it up again, "Oh, geez, I need to go see Souta!" She ran out the door saying that she'd be back to get their trays.

After Kagome was good and gone, Hakkaku turned to Kouga, "'We don't want to hurt the kid'? Isn't he kind of the reason we're here in this castle… eating vegetables!"

Kouga put his bowl down and folded his arms, "Our hostess here doesn't seem to care that we're demons, have you noticed that?"

"Yeah, so?" said Ginta, "She probably has faith in her hanyou."

"I don't think so. I may be out on a limb here, but I think she might just not care. We could be humans and she'd treat us the same," Kouga said.

"What are you getting at, Kouga?" Hakkaku asked.

"A couple of days ago, I learned that she isn't too fond of the hanyou and doesn't really want to be here herself. If I can bargain with her I bet we can get her to get the jewel and give it to us, and then we could break out of here and avenge our fallen brethren by slaying the mutt."

"Break free? Aren't we allowed to leave whenever we please?" Hakkaku mentioned. He received a bump on the head for an answer.

"But why should she help us?" Ginta asked.

"Simple, we bring her home if she helps us," Kouga smirked.

"Are we actually going to bring her home, or are you just going to trick her?" Ginta wanted to clarify.

Kouga was silent for a moment, "Hmmm… Good question. As we all know, I hold no great love for humans, but Kagome seems a little different…"

"So are we going to trick her and kill her, or actually bring her back to her family?" Ginta prompted.

"Maybe," Kouga shrugged.

"What? 'Maybe' isn't an-" Hakkaku stopped himself in fear of Kouga's fist.

O.o

Kagome woke up from shuffling on the other side of her room. She sat up and saw Souta packing his things. She frowned. He was leaving today.

Last night when he wanted to talk to her alone he said he wanted to sleep in her room. Kagome let him willingly. This could easily be the last time they see each other, he knew that and just wanted to spend as much time with his sister as humanly possible before leaving.

Kagome rose from her bed to help him pack. After breakfast, he would leave with Rin.

"Ohayou, Kagome," he said.

"Ohayou, Souta. Do you want me to help you pack?" she didn't wait for a reply because she started helping him the second she offered.

There was a silence from them both for a while, but right when they were about done packing Souta spoke out spontaneously, "I do, Kagome…" Kagome glanced over at him, "I do hate him." Kagome saw Souta clenching his teeth and attempting to hold back tears, "I hate Dad for what he did to you."

Kagome stared at him helplessly. To hug him would be wrong because he would take it as if it were okay to hate their father, and to say something to him would be cruel because then it would seem like she totally agreed with her father which wasn't true at all. Souta continued, "You say he did it to be able to see his family again, but that isn't an excuse! To trade someone, especially your own family to another person is inhumane and I hate father for doing it! I hate him!"

"Souta…" Kagome couldn't think of anything to say.

The shoji to her room opened. It was Rin.

"Excuse me," she said, "Souta-kun, Kagome-san, breakfast is ready."

O.o

Inuyasha watched Kagome walk Rin and Souta outside. Miroku and Sango stood by his side watching the door. Sango looked over at Inuyasha, "Should we see them off?"

"Probably not," Inuyasha said with a neutral voice, "I'm not sure Kagome would appreciate it."

Sango and Miroku exchanged surprised looks. Miroku narrowed his eyes, 'Who are you, and what have you done with our hanyou?"

"Shut up."

"Okay, okay," Miroku nodded, "But really? Since when do you care?" He waited for a reply but when none came, he continued, "Could it be this reminds you of another farewell, then?"

Inuyasha shot a glare at Miroku, "Hardly the same circumstances."

"Hardly not the same outcome," he replied back.

"That's not necessarily true," Inuyasha snapped back.

Sango cut in before Miroku could reply, "Stop it Miroku. Ths isn't the time for that," she turned to Inuyasha, "Inuyasha, we all know to some extent what Kagome is going through. We understand."

Inuyasha grumped, "Whatever."

O.o

Kagome saw Souta and Rin off, but only Kagome. She wasn't sure if Inuyasha and the rest just wanted her to have time alone with Souta, or just because they wanted them out, but Kagome couldn't care less.

"Goodbye, Souta," Kagome hugged him. She wasn't crying for some reason. She was sad beyond belief, but no tears could really come, "Give Mama a kiss for me, and Grampa a hug, and please Souta, _please_ tell Papa that I'm alright."

Souta bit his bottom lip scornfully, but nodded, "I will, Kagome."

Kagome turned to Rin, "Good bye Rin-chan. I know Mama and my family will be kind to you."

Rin nodded thankfully, "Goodbye, Kagome… chan."

Kagome smiled weakly at her.

Kagome turned back to her little brother and embraced him, "Goodbye Souta. I will miss you."

"Bye Ane-san. I'll miss you too," he hugged her back so tightly it hurt, but she didn't care.

Souta let go of Kagome and looked to Rin, "Let's go Rin."

"Yeah."

Kagome watched as they made their way past the Yamaibara garden and descended the stone steps. She felt tears coming to her eyes now. This might have been the last time she saw any of her family again. She sobbed.

She hurried back into the castle and tried to run back up to her room but tripped over her own feet in the entry hall and landed on her knees and hands. Not having the will to get up, she sobbed there. For about a minute she kept that way until she felt a presence beside her. She looked up to see, to her surprise, Inuyasha looking down at her with pity.

She shook her head, "Go away Inuyasha. I want to be alone right now."

Inuyasha didn't move. Kagome looked up at him and to her amazement, he said something she never thought he'd say even in her wildest dreams, "I'm sorry, Kagome."

Kagome stopped sobbing for a moment, thinking she misheard she said, "What?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated. He sat down so he could be at her level, "I don't seeing girls cry and I didn't think anyone from your family would come here and make you upset this way. That and…" He stopped.

"…And…?" Kagome asked.

"Hey, why didn't you just go with him?" Inuyasha asked.

"What?" she wiped her eyes and sat up strait, "My father…"

"Oh, forget about your father for a second!" Inuyasha snapped. Tears came back to Kagome's eyes and Inuyasha quickly retracted his statement, "Wait- no, what I meant to say was, why would you even consider staying when you could have easily run away with your brother at almost anytime while he was here? Besides because your father basically gave you to me, why not even think about running away from here?"

Kagome stayed silent for a moment or two before replying, "Well, you need me for something, right?" Inuyasha didn't answer, "You guys won't tell me what it is so I just have to figure it out myself but if I do whatever you guys want me to do you'd set me free, right?"

"So? Why bother. You could have just run away without giving us a second thought. Why do you care about us enough to want to do what we want you to do so you can be free instead o just leaving?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well…" Kagome bit her lower lip, "Sango and Miroku have been really nice to me while I was here and, you know what?" She looked strait in the eye, "I never really said this, but that night when I first found out Souta was here, you saved us from all those wolves including my brother and all those children. That means you can't be all bad," Inuyasha watched her intently, "Not only that, but you let Souta and the children stay at the castle even though you didn't want them to and you thought I was trying to run away with them," Kagome sniffed, "I know I'm usually mean to you and throw stuff at you, but for what you did for Souta and me, Inuyasha," Inuyasha felt a strange feeling in his arm and stomach, "makes me really thankful."

There was awkward silence between the two. Kagome gave a weak smile through her tears and Inuyasha stared at the ground and clasped his arm. "I…" Inuyasha stuttered, "I have to go."

He got up and ran upstairs to Miroku's room, leaving Kagome downstairs to wallow in confusion.

O.o

Kouga watched from his window up above. Kagome was hugging her little brother goodbye. Kouga raised an eyebrow, so the squirt was leaving…? He scanned the ground to check if Shippo was with them, but he wasn't. Kouga let out a sigh. It would have been so much easier to get the jewel if the kitsune brat had become pals with the other kids. He checked out the window again. The two human kids had started walking down the stairs and Kagome was looking downward.

Kouga felt the most peculiar twang in his chest when he realized she was crying, but he didn't know why. Kagome ran back inside the castle.

Kouga turned away from the window and sat on his bed. Perhaps if he chased after the kids now, he could try to ransom them for the jewel and the kitsune. Kouga shook his head, he didn't know why, but something kept him from doing that. He grouched.

Suddenly an idea hit him and he grinned to himself. Kagome was clearly really upset now. She just got departed from her little brother so her want to be with him has to be at least multiplied by ten! If Kouga really wanted Kagome's help in acquiring the Shikon jewel, now would be the time to ask for it.

He laid down on his bed and smirked. Sometimes, he was so smart it scared him.

O.o

"Miroku!" Inuyasha burst into Miroku's room clutching his arm. Miroku stood up in alarm, 'What? What happened?"

"She thanked me! And my arm feels funny!" Inuyasha said quickly.

Miroku's eyes widened, "Is it gone? Have you checked?"

"No, not yet."

"Then what are you waiting for!" Miroku grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve himself and pushed it back. There on his arm were three identical scratches on his wrist. Inuyasha stared at his wrist for a moment or two before yelling, "WHAT! Why isn't it working! I saved her and she was freaking thankful so why isn't freaking working!"

"No, Inuyasha, look," Miroku pointed at his wrist, "There are only three scratches. It is working, but…"

"What! Only one of the scratches is gone! Where did it mention that in the contract! I have to do the same thing three more times!" Inuyasha was furious.

"It looks like it, Inuyasha. I guess Kagome is going to stay with us a little longer than expected then…" he sighed.

Inuyasha stared at his wrist, one scratch less.


	10. Uchi

Neh…. I'm tired… Need… sleep….

Oh yeah, and guys, I know for a fact that at least thirty people have read chapter 9, but only two had reviewed (and not even my regular peoples ;.;) and yeah, kind of feeling unloved… but I guess I deserve it for leaving for so long, oh well, time to build up a reputation of sorts again.

**Yamaibara**

Chapitre 10

Uchi (Home)

By, Auroras-flame

It was foggy and cold when Rin and Souta arrived back at his village. Very few were outside. Rin was looking and squinting at everything around her, trying to get a good image of what her new town looked like. Souta, however, was staring at the ground, undoubtedly going over every possible scenario in his head about how he would greet his family.

They reached the shrine steps and started to ascend them, Souta's fear and anxiousness was killing him. Rin mentioned during their climb, "You're town is so beautiful Souta."

"What do you mean? It's all foggy and disgusting now," he said distractedly.

"I know, but even though it's cold outside, I feel as if I know that there's going to be warm place for me here," Rin said happily.

Souta didn't share her warm sentiments. What if his parents… no, Grampa and Mother were angry with him? He could deal with his father, but if his mother were upset with him he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

A sudden hand on his shoulder stopped him momentarily. He looked back at Rin who smiled at him weakly and said, "It's okay, Souta-kun. No one is going to be angry with you."

Souta lowered his gaze and tried to believe her. They reached the top of the stairs and they were finally out of the fog. Rin gasped and commented on the shrine's beauty as Souta walked slowly toward the main house. Rin followed quickly and they found themselves in front of his door. He thought. Should he knock? Should he just walk in? Should he yell inside? Rin decided for him by knocking.

The disgruntled voice of his grandfather came through, "The shrine is closed! Come back tomorrow!" Rin looked at him. Souta sighed and opened the door. He stepped inside and heard his grandfather get up from somewhere in a rage screaming, "How dare you enter my home! I said the shrine was-!" his grandfather walked to the door and stopped talking suddenly to see that his grandson with some odd little girl was standing in front of him, face weary from travel, but eyes sharp from some hidden fury.

"Oh good gods… Souta…" he murmured smiling and almost at tears, "SOUTA!" he hobbled over to his grandson and hugged him while screaming at the top of his lungs, "MUSUME! SOUTA IS HOME!"

His father was the first to come back wide-eyed and with a million feeling mixed into his face. Not soon after his mother burst into the room, clad in all back scrambling to see her son. She stopped a few feet away from him and stared in disbelief. Tears fell down her cheeks and her mouth was slightly parted. She reached out to him with both hands. His grandfather let go of him and allowed him to walk to him mother. When he was close enough, his mother pulled him as close to her as possible and started sobbing on his shoulder. She dragged him to the ground holding him and crying her eyes out.

"Tadaima, Okaa-san," Souta murmured to her, both happy and relieved.

"Sou- ta…" his mother said through her sobbing. After a few minutes, she loosened her grip and Souta was allowed to get up. He walked to Rin and led her inside, he told introduced her to his family, "Rin, this is my grandfather, mother, and my… father…" he seemed to have difficulty saying the words, "Everyone, this is Rin. I met her on my journey. I'd like her stay with us."

"Hajimemashite," Rin bowed a little.

Grandpa and Mama exchanged looks.

"Souta…" his father asked a little worriedly, "Where ever did you go?"

"I went to the Yamaibara mountain," Souta said calmly.

"Souta," his mother said wiping her tears away, "How foolish of you! You could have been killed by wolves!"

"I saw no wolves, Mama," Souta assured her kindly. His father froze up in a panic at this comment, "But I found Kagome's bones." His father relaxed, but then suddenly caught tense and wary, "And, just like father said, they looked like they were licked clean by a starving wolf. I took them down to Rin's village and gave them a proper burial."

"Very good Souta," Grandpa Higurashi nodded. His mother's eyes started to fill up with water again and his was wide-eyed and panicking.

Souta turned to his worry-filled father and said coldly, "Otou-san, can you speak with me in my room please?" His father looked terrified and confused at the same time. He probably resembled a squirrel surrounded by a foreign hungry animal, not really knowing if the animal was going to eat it or not, but the promise of its demise seemed inevitable.

Both Grandpa and Souta's mother looked at Higurashi-san curiously. He glanced between them and tried to stay calm, "Of course, Souta-san."

Souta turned to Rin and motioned his head inside. He sauntered through the hall with Rin closely at his side, giving him concerned glances.

"Oh, you mean now…" his father realized frantically.

Rin winced as Souta clenched his teeth. Although his father couldn't have possibly seen Souta's expression, he seemed to walk quicker after that. They made it to his room and Souta asked Rin if she wanted to sit down on his bed, she declined quietly. His father was looking between the pair and started to chuckle nervously, "Goodness Souta, you certainly are growing up quickly. You go on a journey and you bring back a girl…" Souta glowered at his father with embarrassment and fury and Rin rested her face in her hand, though not to hide a blush, just in embarrassment for Higurashi-san and how quickly he was digging his own grave.

"Don't you start with me," Souta growled. Higurashi-san froze. "I know what you did to Kagome, and I will not forgive you for it," his voice was eerily quiet, "You traded her for your life and you disgust me."

"How… did you…!" Higurashi-san stuttered loudly. Souta shushed him, "Do you want Mama and Grandpa to here you?" he hissed softly. He lowered his voice, "How…? What…? Didn't the inu get you…? Oh gods, is Kagome alright?" his father was pouring out with questions.

"Inuyasha didn't lay a finger on us," Souta said, "But then, of course we didn't steal anything."

"But what about Kagome…? Is she alright…?" Higurashi-san wanted to know.

"What about us? I'll have you know we did get attacked by wolves just because of your lie," he snarled.

Higurashi-san grabbed his younger son's shoulders firmly and said, "I'm sorry that happened to you. But you're alright and I want to know: IS KAGOME OKAY?"

Souta hit his father's hands off his shoulder, "Of course she is! Do you think _I_ would have allowed her to stay there if she wasn't okay or unwilling to stay there?"

Higurashi-san sank to the floor and sighed with relief, "Oh thank the gods."

"Get up; you don't deserve to be happy. Your daughter is in a castle filled with demons and we'll probably never see her again. You have no honor, no guts, and as far as I'm concerned, no children. You are scum and if everybody knew what you did, nobody would forgive you," Souta snapped.

"Souta-kun!" Rin finally cut into the conversation, "That isn't true! You haven't told him what Kagome-chan said!"

Souta gave her a pleading look to be quiet. Higurashi-san looked at her, 'What? What did my daughter say?"

"She said she loved you, Sir," Rin said, "And that she was okay and that the people there are nice to her." Higurashi-san stared at Rin, "Hontou desu ka? Is that true?"

"Yes. She said you were her father and she'd always love you…" Rin assured him.

"That's enough, Rin," Souta snapped. Rin looked at him and slowly lowered her gaze. She knew she was out of line when she said that. Souta turned to his father, "I want to make it clear that I would have ratted you out the second we got home if it not for Kagome and Inuyasha. I'm not going to tell anyone about what you did, but you will not even look at my general direction while you're here because although I owe Inuyasha, my pure disgust for you comes first."

Souta turned away from him. Higurashi-san knew that that was his sign to leave but he sighed and got up. He walked slowly over to Souta and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Souta began thrashing violently to get him off, but before Higurashi could be thrown away he said, "I'm so happy you're both alive…"

O.o

"So Kagome," Shippo narrowed his eyes in consideration, "You're a priestess, right?"

Kagome looked across the lunch table at the little kitsune and warily nodded, "Yes, I am, but how did you know that?"

"You give off a pretty interesting aura, but I just know because I overheard Sango and Miroku talking," Shippo shrugged.

"Oh, why did you want to know?" Kagome asked.

Shippo held up the jewel, "The human girl, Rin, gave me a pretty good idea while she was here. As a priestess you should have purifying powers and should be able keep this safe. Then I could leave the castle without the wolves tracking me down… hopefully."

"Just what is that thing anyway?" Inuyasha said examining it from a distance.

As Shippo explained the Shikon Jewel and its power Kagome pondered to herself. Wasn't that the jewel that Kouga wanted? If she took it and tried to take care of it, it would stop putting Shippo in danger of the wolves, but if she did take it, there would be a lot more opportunities for Kouga to get it… but was that such a bad thing? Yeah the jewel was powerful, but what did Kouga know about how to use power? Perhaps she should look into that before accepting any responsibilities.

"So that's why the wolf wanted that jewel so badly…" Inuyasha murmured. Miroku and Sango were also suddenly interested. They exchanged looks and said, "Inuyasha, do you think that could…?"

"Maybe… Hey shrimp, can that jewel do just about everything?" he asked.

Slightly peeved on being called 'shrimp' he replied, "If used correctly, it could resurrect the dead, so… yea… probably." All three glanced at each other hopefully but Shippo cut in, "But, if used impurely, the consequences could be fatal." All three deflated slightly only to start looking at each other again. Kagome glanced at Shippo, he seemed to be confused as much as she was, and that made her feel better. Shippo shook his at the three and turned back to Kagome, "So, are you willing to take it, Kagome?"

She bowed her head and said, "Let me think about it for a while, is that okay?"

"Yup." Shippo pocketed the jewel which Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango were now following with greedy eyes.

Kagome finished her meal and got up to put her dishes away and retrieved food for the wolves. She went upstairs and found Kouga alone in his room looking outside his window.

"Lunch time," she said cheerfully. Kouga didn't appear to notice. She frowned, "Kouga, are you alright?"

Kouga glanced back at her and said rather sadly, "Yeah, I guess so."

Kagome tilted her head curiously, "Kouga, what's wrong?"

Kouga started gazing out the window again, "I just miss home, I guess… With the pack and stuff…"

"You can leave anytime you want, you know," Kagome said losing a bit of her sympathy.

"Yes, I know, but I can't _really_ leave," Kouga sighed.

"Why not?"

"All of my pack is counting on me to bring back the Shikon no Tama. Without that, they'll just consider me to be quitter and a failure. And failures in my pack… they don't even deserve to live. I'll be disowned from my pack, maybe even killed," he explained/

Kagome's eyes were wide in shock from the sheer brutality of it. Wolf packs weren't really like that, were they?

"That's why I need the Shikon no Tama… if I ever want to go back…" Kouga said solemnly. He turned back to her and gave her a weak smile, "But you understand don't you Kagome? Not being able to go back to your own home. You too are bound by the invisible chains of this castle…"

Kagome turned her head away, remembering Souta's leave the day before. She bit her lower lip and had the sudden need to leave, "I… need to go give Hakkaku-san and Ginta-san their food. Good bye Kouga-san."

"Please Kagome, just Kouga," he said as she walked out the door. That only made her move faster. After she was gone, Kouga picked up his chopsticks and started to chow down on his rice. He mumbled cockily to himself, "That was easy…"

O.o

Kagome whacked herself over the head once she got in her room after giving the wolves their food. How could she be distracted by the laments of a wolf? What she needed to find out was Kouga's ability to harness power.

Kagome sighed and sat on her bed. But now that she talked with Kouga, maybe she should accept the responsibility of the jewel and then give it to him. It would be cruel not to. But… Shippo wouldn't want Kouga to have the jewel (obviously). So… what should she do?

'Perhaps I should talk to Shippo about it,' she thought, 'Maybe if I can convince him that giving the jewel to Kouga would be the best thing, then he might let me… and if not, well at least I tried… I guess…'

Kagome then felt a drop of water fall down her cheek. She wiped it off only to find that her entire face was covered in sweat.

"Why is it so hot in here?" she murmured to herself. She tried to ignore it but then it became slightly steamy and she had to shed off a couple layers of clothes. She opened some windows and then looked around. She glanced at the door leading to the bathroom. She put her hand on the shoji and felt its heat. Some one was definitely in there.

She thought about knocking, but obviously, if someone was in there, the last thing they would need is Kagome disturbing them. That, and since Sango always took baths with her now, she would undoubtedly walk in on something she really didn't want to see.

Kagome was about to walk away, but then heard talking from the bathroom.

"THAT'S HOT!" came thundering from the other side of the shoji. (AN: -.- Oh dear… that came out wrong…)

Kagome blinked a few times, and then looked at her bed and then at the door. She shouldn't eavesdrop but…

O.o

Miroku sighed blissfully and soaked himself in the hot water. Inuyasha stared at it distastefully and stuck his finger in it every once in a while only to snarl at it.

"You always make it too darn hot!" Inuyasha whined.

"Shut up…" Shippo said indifferently as he treaded in the water, the Shikon Jewel nearly dragging him down by his neck… Inuyasha shot him a glare, but uncharacteristically held back his comments.

"So why'd you guys tell me to come along exactly?" Shippo asked suspiciously.

"Oh, you know, some manly bonding time and all that sort of stuff," Miroku chuckled merrily.

"Yeah… of course," Shippo narrowed his eyes.

"So Shippo, out of curiosity, why did you want Kagome to take care of the Shikon Jewel thingy…?" Inuyasha asked as he tenderly put his feet into the water.

"I told you, she's a priestess," Shippo snorted, clearly not liking the subject they were on.

"But I mean, why _Kagome_? Miroku is a priest, he could purify the jewel, why not him?" Inuyasha clarified.

Shippo took one distasteful look over at Miroku, and then at Inuyasha, "Would _you_ trust him with a source of unlimited power?"

Inuyasha and Shippo looked at Miroku together, "Good point." Miroku smiled innocently, "Whatever do you mean?"

"Well, why not to me, then?" Inuyasha proposed.

Shippo started to laugh, but then quickly stop when he saw neither of the older guys laughing. He looked up at Inuyasha, "You aren't serious, are you?"

Inuyasha glared as Shippo spelled it out for him, "What part of 'priestess' did you not understand? You're just about as holy as dirt. I'd never let you even touch it."

"Why not? Because I'm a demon? What makes you so different then?" Inuyasha crossed his arms.

"First of all you're a hanyou, not a demon," Shippo verbally slapped his face, "Second of all, you, being part demon, would use it for something stupid and power-hungry, much like the wolf," another blow to the gut, "and third of all, I'm different from you because I'm not an insecure little half demon that feels that he needs to trick a little kid to get some easy power."

"Why you….!" Inuyasha tried to jump in after him, but Miroku skillfully pulled the little kitsune out of harm's way.

O.o

Kagome sighed and turned away from the shoji. Oh great, more talk about why she should take the jewel and more reason to not give it to Kouga. This was putting her in such an awkward position…

She really just needed to talk to Shippo one on one, and soon.

_Inuyasha dropped his sword and looked around at the massacre. What happened? Had he done this? His clothes were ripped and blood was leaking out several fairly deep cuts in his body. He saw a familiar body in the distance and his eyes grew wide in horror. He tried to rush over to her but a petite feminine hand grabbed his wrist before he could go anywhere. He stumbled backward and stared at the owner of the hand. She had lost a lot of blood from a massive wound in the chest (judging by the trail) and her eye was gorged out, giving her the appearance of crying blood from her empty socket. Her other eye was crying also, "You couldn't save her, could you!" she screamed in agony and regret, "You couldn't save any of us! The sword we made for you… ye couldn't even use it!" _

_Inuyasha gasped, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" _

"_It's too late for that! My sister's dead! Your mother's dead! They are all are dead!" she yelled. Inuyasha winced as a surprisingly strong grip started to bury her nails into his flesh, a truly miraculous occurrence. Her body began to weigh her down and with it came her nails, giving him four long scratch marks down his wrist. He yelled in pain he never felt from a single scratch wound before. _

"_I curse you Inuyasha!" she screamed. She started to glow with a light blue light, a long sheet of paper appeared out of no where with a brush striking up and down violently spelling out a long contract in red ink. Inuyasha watched in awe and shock. This wasn't priestess magic! How was she doing that?_

"_These scratches will always remind you what you have done to you and all of your close one's families… They will never go away until you repent for what you have done and for what you have failed to do while they were all alive… while SHE was alive. And Inuyasha… may the gods have mercy on you if you ever even consider of touching someone besides-"_

Inuyasha sat up in his bed, panting. He clasped his head. He never had dreams about something that had gone on in his past before… What had triggered this one? He glanced up at his wrist. Had it been the cause of that?

O.o

3,284 typed words of sheer (not including the intro or this ending thingy) story type goodness. I know you're all out there (points out all people who read chapter nine, but didn't review). I know that there are twenty of you who did not review and for that, I bestow upon you the shame fingers of doom! Bestow Bestow. Okay, enough silliness, I'm not all that upset about lack of reviews, because I kind of deserve it for the whole leaving for half a year thing… most of you probably aren't even here anymore… Oh well. A big thankies to the 1 out of 30 people (that I've last checked) who have read chapter nine and reviewed (Ethuliel) (I hope I spelled that right…). This chapter is for you n' stuff! And because you reviewed for my chapter, you're review gets responded to first! (Oh yeah, and Kitsune Ryune as well, thank you for reviewing!)

(Hey, in case I'm just flipping out or something, could some one tell me if responding to my reviewers is banned from I got this thing last summer that was some e-mail petition to stop from banning responses to reviewers, but I've heard from some of my other reviewers that something like that never came up or maybe they just banned having an entire chapter as a talk to reviewers You know, like those IMPORTANT NOTICE! Chapters that just interrupt the story. So if anyone can clear this up for me, that'd be super cool and stuff…)

Ethuliel: thank you so much for reviewing! I was feeling kind of lonely there for a while. I appreciate your review very much and hope to hear from you again!

Kitsune Ryune: Yup, it's a Beauty and the Beast spin off sort of thing; and oh geez, you're referring to the fourth Inuyasha movie, right? The Guren no Horaijima? Well, I have the first three movies, but I had never seen the fourth or heard any summaries about it. So, I looked it up online and started freaking out from the scratch thing. That was ENTIRELY unintentional… and kind of creepy. Thanks for telling me, I would have been in the dark the entire time if not for you.


	11. Arigatou

Alright peoples. I know you all are out there. Ever since the malfunction of I've had at least 25- something people look at chapter ten alone, and I only got three reviews. -.- Not feelin' the love guys. However! I am extremely thankful to those three who reviewed: Priestessmykala, Kitsune Ryune, and Shadow-within. I have responses to your reviews at the end of the chapter, just waiting for you!

**Yamaibara**

_Chapitre 11_

Arigatou (If you don't know what that says, you probably shouldn't be reading something so fan-based as fanfiction)

By, Auroras-flame

_Inuyasha found Kikyo in her room, bowing her head down at Tessaiga remorsefully. He hid behind the shoji and watched carefully. He winced as he saw her grip tighten on Tessaiga's hilt and sheathe. Her little sister, Kaede rested her hand on her shoulder and tried to comfort her. It was only two days after they had prayed together and she had announced it complete, but… it wasn't, apparently._

"_Why didn't it work, Kaede? Inuyasha was neither able to use its power, nor even reveal its true form… why? Not even his father could wield, it burned his hand," she growled, "How could I have possibly failed like this?"_

"_It isn't your fault Kikyo!" Kaede assured her whole-heartedly._

"_But it has to be," Kikyo said quietly, "If Inutaisho-sama can no longer hold the sword that was once his after my alterations, it is my fault. Not Tessaiga's, and not his own."_

"_No Kikyo, you probably just made it too good! That's all!" Kaede said, "Inuyasha probably can only use it if he has to save someone… a human."_

_Inuyasha's eyes widened, maybe, it was his fault. Maybe, that day he prayed he would use it to protect Kikyo; he made it think that it should only work if he was protecting her. He had to tell her… no, wait. He couldn't do that, how embarrassing would it be if he admitted that he had prayed for such a juvenile thing? He scowled, he would need to tell her eventually though, and as soon as possible would be the best time…_

_He would talk to her now, but bring up the praying thing later. He entered her room in full view and sat down next to her. She looked up at him briefly, but then bowed her head in shame, "I'm sorry Inuyasha. I'm sorry I failed."_

"_Stop it," he ordered, "Don't talk like that. It isn't your fault." It wasn't her fault at all._

_She smiled weakly, "Thank you Inuyasha, that means a lot to me." Kaede who was telling Kikyo the same thing before gave Inuyasha a quick scowl before Kikyo continued, "But now we won't be able to spend as much time together as I thought, we must correct this problem."_

"_Well, why don't you take a break today, Kikyo? You've done a lot ever since you've been here and never had a day off, why not take one now?" Inuyasha suggested._

"_No, no, no. I couldn't possibly consider it. If anything, I need to work harder more than ever to finish this. I don't even know how long it will take, but I will finish this, if not for you, for myself," Kikyo said looking down at the sword, "Sesshomaru's sword turned out to be a complete success, much to his dislike also," she chuckled bitterly, "but I really wanted to make your sword perfect Inuyasha, I really did. I tried so hard, but it wasn't good enough. Imagine how I felt when you weren't able to draw out Tessaiga's true form and then when your father tried too, his hand lit on fire! I felt so ashamed; I don't even know if I can look him in the eyes again. It was almost if I purified it against every demon in the world, but you, which wasn't what I wanted at all… I'm so sorry…"_

_Kikyo didn't shed any tears, but she might as well had after sounding so sad. He wanted to hug her and tell her it was alright, but the presence of Kaede and his unsure-ness on how Kikyo would react stopped him. She always looked too prideful to give in to the same type of thing he was feeling._

_He bowed his head along with her, and they mourned her loss together._

O.o

"Shippo-kun, I wanted to talk about the Shikon no Tama," Kagome said awkwardly. Right after she brought up the wolves' breakfast, she went strait to Shippo's room to confront him about giving the jewel to Kouga. She was nervous, because she didn't want to sound untrustworthy of the jewel if Shippo was entirely against it, but she really didn't have a lot of choice.

"Yeah, Kagome? Do you want to guard it for me? I'd be really thankful," Shippo smiled. Kagome felt daggers of guilt poke her several times in the stomach.

"Well, you see Shippo, there was something I was wondering if you wouldn't consider doing instead of giving it to me," Kagome said.

"Hm? What is that?" Shippo asked.

"Well, Kouga said that if he wanted to be accepted back into his tribe ever again he was going to need the jewel, and if you give it to him, not only will he not cause you trouble, but he'll leave here and everybody would be all happy and stuff and wouldn't that be great?" Kagome said speedily.

Shippo narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "NO." Kagome frowned and Shippo went on, "'Wouldn't be accepted back into his tribe'? I can only imagine what bull he was feeding you, but no way. The jewel in the hands of a demon is bad news. That's why I want you to have it," he held it out, but quickly retracted it, "But maybe I should reconsider, you seem just a little too… easily manipulated. If I give it to you, you might give it to the next person who throws you a sob story."

Kagome stared at him disbelievingly at one point, but looked downward shamefully afterwards. Was she really tricked? He seemed genuine, but, anyone can lie… Kagome looked sharply into Shippo's eyes, "I understand Shippo. If you really want me to take the jewel, I'll take it and never let anyone else have it, but I can understand if you don't want me to keep it either…"

Shippo sighed, "Stop acting all noble and stuff, you can have it. I trust you, as long as you promise to never let anyone have the jewel. Don't even let them touch it," Shippo tossed the jewel over to Kagome who tried to catch it, but it slipped through her fingers. She quickly picked it up and held it in her hands tightly. (AN: If that doesn't inspire confidence, I don't know what will…)

"Okay," she nodded. Shippo nodded back, but then he snapped his head up as if he just remembered something and told her to wait a second as he turned around to shuffle through his haori until he found something. He handed her a necklace with many small teeth on it and a spherical ring on the front of the necklace. Shippo plucked the jewel out of Kagome's hands and laced it into the ring. It fit perfectly. He scampered around on Kagome put the necklace over her head.

"There," he said cheerfully, "Now you won't lose it easily or nuthin'."

Kagome smiled at Shippo, "Thank you Shippo. It really does mean a lot to me that you'd trust me so much as to keep a hold of your jewel."

"That's right, so you keep super extra good care of it, okay?" Shippo said.

"Right."

O.o

_Inuyasha found Kikyo in her room concentrating on his sword again. He entered and looked down at her. Kikyo returned his gaze, only to look away suddenly, "I just don't see what's wrong with it…"_

_Inuyasha sighed and sat down, "I think I know Kikyo…" Kikyo glanced at him quickly, "Is that true, Inuyasha?"_

"_Yes, you see you know that day you had me pray...?" Inuyasha told her about his theory. He was waiting for Kikyo to laugh and call him either an idiot or even worse 'silly' and shoot down his idea, but Kikyo listened; and surprisingly, when he mentioned the part about him wishing to protect her, her eyes widened a little bit. _

_There was a brief silence in the room once he finished. _

"_That just could be it…"_

_Inuyasha snapped his head up at her comment. She was smiling too, smiling at him. Her smile was like the solitary delicate blue flower sitting in the snow; so subtle, but it made the rest of the world surrounding her seem insignificant. She was the only bit of life on a barren snow land. _

"_Thank you Inuyasha," Kikyo smiled so delicately, "Not only for showing me I wasn't wrong, but for wishing for me. That makes me really happy."_

_Inuyasha couldn't take it anymore, he pulled her into a hug. Kikyo stiffened at first, but then relaxed into his hug. They stayed like that for a while. She never returned his hug, just accepted it. She suddenly sat up and shook her head. Inuyasha frowned._

"_No Inuyasha. I'm sorry, we can't," Kikyo continued to shake her head, "Although we know what the problem is, it doesn't change the fact that it is indeed a problem. Above all, my job comes first. My obligation must come over my feelings… and yours too Inuyasha."_

_Inuyasha felt like he got stabbed in the heart. Did that mean she didn't feel the same?_

"_Please leave me. I must work."_

_Inuyasha felt the same pain. It felt like nothing he ever felt before. Almost like he was being rejected. However, he obeyed her. He got up and opened the shoji out of her room. There stood Kaede, smirking up at him. He could care less._

"_Inuyasha…"_

_He glanced over at Kikyo who was turned away from him. She continued, "Although my job comes before my feelings, that can never change the way I feel either. Remember that… please."_

_Both his and Kaede's eyes widened at the fact the prideful Kikyo had said such a thing. Inuyasha left the room smiling hopefully, and Kaede entered the room scowling._

O.o

At lunch that afternoon every single pair of the eyes in the room was focused at Kagome's chest. She ate her lunch awkwardly as she saw everybody, even Sango, stare at the Shikon.

She finally put down her chopsticks and yelled, "STOP THAT! You're all creeping me out."

All seemed to snap to their senses and return to eating. Kagome huffed and finished her meal quietly. She stood up to put her dishes away and saw that Inuyasha was done too, "Inuyasha, would you like me to put your dishes away too?"

Inuyasha gave her a weird look, "Sure…"

Kagome picked it up and said huffily, "Don't sound so suspicious. You just happen to be finished when I am for once. I'm doing it to be courteous."

"Oh…" Inuyasha said quietly, "Thanks."

Kagome stopped moving briefly. Did he just thank her for something? He looked up at her questioningly. She snapped out of her daze and smiled brightly, "Your welcome Inuyasha."

Inuyasha blinked a few times in confusion before blushing slightly. Sango and Miroku could be heard snickering in the back ground and Shippo sighed.

Kagome brought in Inuyasha's dishes and then prepared Kouga's. She went upstairs, but before entering his room, she slipped the jewel into her shirt.

"Lunch is here!" she chimed as she entered his room. Kouga immediately was staring at her strangely. She checked if she really did hide the jewel. She did… so, why was he staring?

"Uhhh… hi Kagome. Is the little kitsune with you or something?" Kouga asked, trying to look around her from his place on his bed.

"Um, no, what would make you say that Kouga?" Kagome tried to sound innocent as she carefully placed his tray in front of him and sat down, "You know I would never bring him up here… no offense."

"None taken…" he said slowly, he was looking all over her for something. This made her feel very awkward. Kagome coughed suggestively to catch his attention. He looked up but didn't change the subject, "Are you sure he didn't follow you up here or something… I sense something strange…"

"Strange how?" she must have sounded nervous because he started staring her down with suspicious eyes, "Kagome, _you_ don't have the jewel right now, do you?"

Kagome sighed and mentally punched herself. She had forgotten that Kouga didn't need to _see_ the jewel to know it was near by. Well, to hide it would be rather pointless now. She drew it out from her shirt and sighed, "Yes, I have it."

Kouga stared at it, mesmerized. He glanced at her and asked, "How did you get it?"

"Shippo gave it to me," she said. She started to explain the situation to him. He listened carefully, but after she finished he almost immediately pleaded, "I understand your predicament, Kagome, but please, may I have the jewel?" Kagome winced painfully as Kouga continued, "If I can just bring back the jewel with me, I can go back with honor and acceptance. Please don't make me go back there just so I can be shunned," he picked up her hands in his, "Kagome…"

Kagome sighed. She retracted her hands from Kouga's and shook her head, "No, Kouga. I can't." Kouga didn't look as hurt as she imagined him to be, but more like his kite got stuck in a tree, much more irritated than bummed out.

"Why not? Because I'm a demon?" his words had a subtle sharpness to them, but at the same time, a sorrowfulness that seemed to plague him, "Because demons are 'evil'? Like your little brother and fox said?"

"That isn't true at all," Kagome said, slightly defensively.

"Then how is it," Kouga snapped bitterly, "that you, the one in the exact same position as me, cannot find it in your heart to help someone in the same situation? You, who can throw your body out in front of wolves to protect your brother and two children you didn't even know, can't even help someone who is even _asking_ for it. I thought you were different from most humans, Kagome… but now I see that you, like the rest, are quite… stereotypical…"

Kagome looked strait into his eyes as he said this. She heard him say his piece calmly, but at the same time looking at him with pity. "Kouga," she started, "How can I really explain the position I'm in to you?" she looked downward in thought, biting her lip as usual and snapped her head up, "Well, you are the leader of your pack, right Kouga? Well, try to imagine your tribe just suddenly comes down with a sickness which can only be cured by an extremely rare plant that grows in various places around in your area. You find just enough to heal the members of your tribe, but just barely. Then, a pack member from another tribe comes over and describes to you that his tribe is suffering from the same sickness and needs the same herb you're using the cure your own tribe members. You and the tribe are allies, so you should share at least some of your medicine with them, but you barely have enough for your own tribe; if you gave any to them, someone in your pack might die. However, you don't want to look selfish in front of the other tribe, otherwise, your alliance might be destroyed, or at least distorted. So you are faced with a dilemma: give some medicine to the other tribe, and let someone in your pack die, or keep the medicine and let the other tribe die out. Which one?" she looked at him as if she expected an answer.

Kouga watched her intently. She was truly trying to make him identify with her… it was a bad analogy, since wolves didn't easily get sick like that, but he humored her, "I would keep it for my own tribe of course. Alliances are nice, but in a pack, your own kin come first."

"Exactly," Kagome broke into a dazzling smile that struck Kouga in awe. No woman had ever smiled like that to him before. He felt a knot in his stomach, he figured it was from guilt for tricking her, but there seemed to be something more. Kagome continued explaining, "You would just be being loyal to your pack, not cruel to the other wolves. It's the exact same with me. Shippo really didn't want you to have the jewel Kouga. It wasn't like I didn't ask, but Shippo is part of _my_ pack now and I need to honor what he asks of me. So, I'm sorry Kouga, but I can't give you the jewel."

There was an awkward silence from both ends.

Kagome stood up and bent down to pick up two rice bowls from the tray. The jewel was dangling from her neck, right in front of Kouga's nose. Both of her hands were full with the two rice bowls she needed to deliver to Hakkaku and Ginta. If Kouga wanted to, he could just snatch the jewel away from her now and run off with it. The situation was practically begging him to. But he couldn't even bring himself to even contemplate the matter.

"Well, I'm off to see Hakkaku and Ginta. I'll see you at dinnertime Kouga," she exited the room, leaving Kouga to feel like scum.

O.o

"So Inuyasha, was it just me or was there a little bit of a spark between you two, hm?" Miroku teased Inuyasha from the entrance of his room. Inuyasha's room was rather plain to tell the truth. However, there appeared to be many breakable things scattered across the walls of his room. Everything ranging from glass sake cups to bushels upon bushels of dried Yamaibara, ready to snap at any minute.

"Oh shut up Miroku," Inuyasha growled, "and get out while you're at it. I never invited you up here."

"But Inuyasha, it appeared that you made such wonderful progress with Kagome-sama. She _smiled_ at you. Did you see that? I was so proud of you. It was but a week ago she hated your guts. At this rate, we might even be able to tell her what the curse is without her freaking out and distancing herself from you-"

"No we won't," Inuyasha snapped, "We will not tell her anything about the curse. Nothing. I don't want that to jeopardize what we're working towards."

"But Inuyasha, Kagome-sama is a very caring person, we all can see that," Miroku protested, "I'm sure if you two got a little closer, she wouldn't care."

"How am I supposed to get 'close' to her Miroku?" Inuyasha hissed. Miroku didn't reply. Inuyasha sighed and turned away from him, mumbling something. He finally asked Miroku to leave his room one last time. He didn't need to be told again.

O.o

_Inuyasha heard someone enter his room. He glanced over to see Kikyo holding Tessaiga firmly in her hands. "Inuyasha," she said quietly, "May I speak with you for a moment?"_

"_Uhhh, yes, of course," he got up and faced her properly. She held out Tessaiga for him and smiled softly. It was nothing like the smile he saw on the day he told her about the praying, but it was a smile, none the less, and he accepted it gratefully._

"_It is finished, I think," she said, "But I fear there must be one condition if you want to use it."_

"_What is that?" Inuyasha asked._

"_You have to save me… from something," she said slightly murmuring. Her uncomforted eyes seemed out of place on her. "But you only need to do it once, so that will make it easier for everyone… but, I don't feel I need saving from anything and… in there lies a problem."_

"_Oh, I see," Inuyasha blushed. Kikyo's inability to show her feelings on the subject was making the air in the room feel awkward. _

"_I have already informed your father about-" she stopped when she saw the embarrassed look on Inuyasha's face. He REALLY didn't want his father to know about what happened, especially since if his father knew, he'd tell his mother, and then his mother would tell Sesshomaru and… oh gods… Kikyo gave a small chuckle, "Don't worry. I didn't say anything about the first flaw in the sword…." He wanting to protect her was flawed? "I just told him the conditions of what it is now. I didn't tell him why or how; just that you did."_

_Inuyasha gave a sigh of relief, despite himself. Kikyo gave another chuckle which immediately made him feel childish. She nodded, "So now I hope you understand…"_

"_Yeah, got it."_

O.o

Okie-dokie. Now for some replies…

Kitsune Ryune: Nice to hear from you again. Hey, thanks for checking out all of my other stories and reviewing. It's really appreciated. I guess this means I'll have to start working on both of them more too… I hope to hear more from you!

Priestessmykala: Hiya! Thanks for reviewing! Nice to see you again. Well, in the fourth movie (apparently) Inuyasha receives four scratches on his back from some other half demons or something…. I don't know really. But it involved four scratches on his back that would only disappear if he filled out some sort of requirements… (Like defeating the big-bad guy or something) I just thought that was creepy that the scratches on Inuyasha would appear in more places than my story. O.o I hope to hear from you again!

Shadow-within: Hey, shorter reviews are better than no reviews at all. Thanks for the compliments!


	12. Shinsetsu na Hito

Errrr…. Hi! ;;;;; Nerrrrgggggg… yeah, if anyone who used to like me is still reading fanfiction, hi again! I hope you don't hate me…. Either way, I hope this attracts more readers and I'd like to assure you that this isn't going to be the only chapter I post in the next six months or anything (I know because a good portion cough all cough of the next chapter is up too.

Anywho, please forgive me if my writing has gotten rusty and please enjoy the chapter!

Chapitre 12

Shinsetsu na Hito (A Good Person)

Auroras-flame

"_Kikyo," Kaede said, "Are you awake?" _

"_Yes," Kikyo answered, "What is it Kaede?"_

_They were in their room and in bed for the night. Moonlight was shining through the windows and dimly lighting the space. Kaede shifted on her cot and turned to face Kikyo's back, "Ane-san, is it wise to allow the hanyou to-?"_

"_His name is Inuyasha, Kaede," Kikyo interrupted._

_Kaede frowned, "Not Inuyasha-_sama_?"_

_Kikyo paused for a moment, and then let out a sigh and asked calmly, "What ails you, sister?"_

_Kaede fidgeted a little bit, "Sister, I am concerned ye are getting too close to Inuyasha-sama." Kaede waited for an answer, but when one didn't come, she continued, "It isn't right Kikyo. I _know_ you're indulging him just to be polite, but it is giving off a terrible impression. He's a demon and you are a priestess. Just think if Father learned about it-"_

"_Inuyasha is a good person Kaede," Kikyo cut her off, "He is also our host. It is dishonorable to speak of him in such a way within his own home."_

_Kaede sat up, staring incredulously at her sister, "Inuyasha is a _demon_."_

"_He is only half demon…"_

"_And what does it matter?!" Kaede leaned toward her sister, hand clutching her sheets in desperation, "Please Kikyo! Ye have always done everything possible to keep yourself and our family honorable; please tell me that you have not fallen for Inuyasha! Deny it, sister, please!"_

_Kikyo remained silent, back still turned to her sister. Kaede would have done anything to just see what her face looked like right then, just some confirmation that she was thinking over her words and not seriously considering beginning a relationship with a hanyou; but she was dead silent. Kaede lowered her head and murmured a final time, "Please…"_

_Kikyo finally sat up and faced her sister directly. The moonlight from outside their window lit up half of her face and reflected off her eyes which were as serious as the grave. Kikyo stated slowly, and without stutter, "I am not falling for Inuyasha, Kaede."_

_Kaede let out a breath of air she didn't even know she was holding, and her shoulders relaxed out of tension she hadn't even realize she had. Kikyo descended back onto her cot and said coolly, "Satisfied, sister? Now please, go to sleep and calm yourself. You have undoubtedly embarrassed us both by yelling so loudly in a palace half filled with demons."_

_Kaede blushed and returned to lying down, realizing that her sister was right. Hopefully what she said wouldn't be too spread around by tomorrow morning…_

O.o

Kagome returned to her room after feeding the wolves and was surprised to see Shippo there, sitting right outside her door. Upon seeing her, Shippo scurried over and checked her neck and the jewel. When he confirmed that it was still there, he let out a sigh of relief, "Oh good. It's still there. I admit, I was a little worried about you going up there with the jewel, but three whole days and it seems like everything is alright."

Kagome crouched down so she could get to Shippo's eye level, "Of course everything is alright. You know Shippo, Kouga isn't as bad as you think. I just explained the situation to him, and he totally understood. I don't think he'll bother you anymore. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he left soon, either."

Shippo stared blankly at her before asking, "You're joking, right?"

Kagome frowned, "No, I'm not joking. I really think Kouga has changed for the better during his little stay here at the castle. I mean, he hasn't gone crazy and tried to kill you or Inuyasha or anything, has he? He's just stayed in his room, just like we asked of him, even though he has recovered completely. I genuinely think he's just a nice guy."

Shippo had his mouth agape for a moment in speechless shock before finally saying, "You are SO NAÏVE," he shook his head and stuck out his hand, "You know what, I'm sorry Kagome, I change my mind. Give me back the Shikon no tama."

Kagome laughed, "It's okay Shippo, I won't give it to him, I promised you, and he knows that."

Shippo lowered his hand and stared up at Kagome worriedly, "Kagome, please just be careful. These guys are _wolves_ and I think that they are willing to do much lower stuff than you give them credit for."

Kagome smiled gently, "Thank you Shippo, that's really sweet. I'm happy that you care about me this much." Kagome grasped the jewel in her hand tightly, "I will do all I can to make sure this doesn't get into the wrong hands."

"Kagome!"

Shippo and Kagome glanced down the hall to see Sango holding a pair of towels and washcloths. She walked up to them, just noticing Shippo she said, "Oh, hello Shippo," she turned back to Kagome, "I turned on the boiler. Do you want to go take a bath with me, Kagome?"

Kagome returned to her normal height and nodded, "Sure." She looked down at Shippo, "Would you like to join us Shippo?"

Shippo shook his head, "That's alright. I was getting kind of hungry and I wanted to raid the kitchen."

Kagome nodded, "Alright, bye bye."

"See ya." Shippo scurried off toward the stairs. Sango watched him go and as soon as he was out of earshot, questioned, "What was that about?"

"I'll tell you about it inside the bath," Kagome said.

O.o

Miroku carried a towel and washcloth over his shoulder as he strolled to the baths, he noticed the boiler was already on, so he figured somebody had already finished taking a bath and just was going to let the coal just burn off, so Miroku was going to take this opportunity for himself. On his way, a little fuzz ball scampered right by his feet, nearly tripping him.

"Whoa!" Miroku regained his ground, and he heard a quick 'sorry' coming from the fuzz ball before it left. Miroku quickly figured it must have been Shippo, but then shrugged it off and continued on his way.

Miroku used to always enter the baths through what was now Kagome's room, but he was forced to change to a new course upon her arrival, now he entered in the room over. It was a little bit more of a walk, but only by about ten meters or so.

He entered the room and wasn't surprised to find it steamy since both Kagome's and this room got that way whenever the boiler heated the water in the bath room. However, while stripping down, he began to hear noises coming from the baths.

Miroku paused and glanced at the baths door, "Oh," he murmured to himself, "I guess there's someone already in there…"

"Ah, it's really warm this time, Sango!"

"Yeah, I put extra coal in, so we can soak for a bit longer too."

Miroku's eyes lit up a bit. Sango _and_ Kagome in the baths. Maybe he could sneak a peek in or two…

"So what was Shippo talking to you about, Kagome?"

"The jewel, of course."

Miroku stopped. Well wasn't this interesting? Even if Sango would just reveal everything to him later, he sort of still wanted to know about this now. He sat down near the door and leaned in close to it.

"Well, I can sort of understand why he'd be worried," Sango said, "I mean, you see those wolves every meal-time and they really want the jewel, right? If I were him, I would have been too afraid to give it to you."

"It's not like I'm just going to let them pickpocket it off my neck, you know," Kagome said defensively.

"I'm not afraid of them _getting_ the jewel, Kagome, I would be worried about the methods they use to get it from _you_," Sango clarified.

Kagome sighed loudly and Miroku didn't hear anything for a moment. Finally Kagome said, "You know, you're probably going to think I'm crazy, but I don't think Kouga is such a bad guy."

Sango paused, as did Miroku. Why on Earth did she think _that_? Sango said, "You think this because he hasn't tried anything yet? To get the jewel, I mean."

"Not just that, but he's actually been pretty nice to me…"

"I should hope so, if he was being mean we'd kick him out so fast it he wouldn't even have the time to say "Shikon"."

"Okay, okay, I get it, don't trust wolves, fine."

There was a long period of silence, and Miroku grew amazingly bored. 'Ah, well, I suppose this time is as good as any to take my peek…' he thought to himself. He reached for the door until Sango suddenly asked, "Kagome, what do you think about Inuyasha?"

Miroku put his hand down. Good girl, Sango! This was going to be fascinating.

"Wha-? What on earth are you talking about, Sango?"

"Oh, come on, you know. You guys have been _pretty_ nice to each other recently. Is there anything going on?"

"How could there be anything going on, Sango, the only time I really see him is during meals."

"But still, humor me, what do you think about him now that you've gotten to know him a little better?"

"Well, I still think he's pretty much just a big kid…"

'Ouch, sorry Inuyasha…' Miroku thought amusedly.

"… He throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way…"

'Ouch.'

"… He gets competitive with other children…"

'Ouch.'

"… Not to mention that entire incident where he wouldn't let me bandage him up for reasons I _still_ don't know…"

Miroku chuckled. 'Poor Inuyasha, good thing he isn't here to listen to this…'

"I'm sure there was a perfectly good reason behind that," Sango insisted.

"Well then I would like to hear it," Kagome huffed. There was a pause. Kagome said, now in a gentler voice, "But he does have his good points too."

'Oh?'

"He's a lot kinder than what I expected… Don't get me wrong, he's still a jerk for threatening my father into bringing me here… but… I realize now that you all want me for something… something important… important enough to where good people like you and Miroku could let Inuyasha treat someone that way…. I'm guessing I'm still not allowed to know what it is, but I'm willing to play along… and Inuyasha… I have a feeling he's a much better person than what he allows people to see..."

"Kagome…"

'Aw, that's sweet, maybe I'll tell Inuyasha about that,' Miroku mused, 'I can't imagine a more interesting topic coming up, so perhaps I'll take my peek now…'

"What about you Sango? How do you think about Miroku?"

'…I take that back.'

"Miroku? Wh- Why would you bring up that pervert?!"

"Oh, come on Sango, I've seen the two of you. Isn't there something going on already?"

"There most certainly is NOT."

'The lady doth protest too much…'

"Well, okay then, I spoke about Inuyasha, you speak about Miroku…"

'Oh, don't make her do that…'

"… but I already know he's a perv. Talk about his good points like I talked about Inuyasha."

'May the gods bless you, Kagome.'

"THERE ARE NONE."

"Ouch, Sango, you wound me so…"

"What the heck was that?!"

'Whoops, that wasn't in my head was it?' Miroku figured. He stood up and collected his things. Time to go.

Sango was already in the room by the time he opened the hall door to leave. Miroku stared at her briefly as she glared him down, red with rage, and clad only in a towel. He whistled, "Nice towel," only to split a second afterwards.

"MIROKU, I WILL KILL YOU!!!!!" she screamed down the hall.

Fortunately for him, she would need clothes first.

O.o

_Inuyasha exited his room with a yawn. It was already noon, but he decided to sleep in a bit. He slowly descended down the stairs, keeping himself balanced by using the support of the wall. As his senses began to clear, he picked up on a familiar scent coming towards his room. His ears pricked up a bit and he rushed to her._

"_Kikyo!" he exclaimed like an excited child upon meeting up with her. _

"_Inuyasha, I was just looking for you," she smiled weakly._

_He frowned at the peculiar smile, "Is there something wrong, Kikyo?"_

_Kikyo's already fragile smile diminished, "As a matter of fact, there is Inuyasha. I told you that we would be staying for an extra week, but I'm afraid it isn't to be so. Lord Noroubido sent a letter to my father to request the extension… however word has just been received back that it is… impermissible."_

_Inuyasha became entirely deflated. He glanced toward the ground, "Oh…" his head popped up again, "But Tessaiga…! You need more time to work on it don't you? Can't you stay longer because of that?"_

_Kikyo shook her head, "A half demon by the name of Naraku is coming to the palace, and he would solve the problem of you needing to save me, right before the deadline too."_

"_But your father doesn't know that!" Inuyasha persisted._

"_I'm not going to lie to my father, Inuyasha," Kikyo said so firmly that Inuyasha flinched. Kikyo turned her head away and sighed, "Besides… you know… I know… it would never work Inuyasha."_

_Inuyasha stared at her hopelessly, "…What…?"_

"_It would never work. I was talking to Kaede last night and… a lot of things became clear to me. I can't afford to… get involved with anyone right now, especially someone of… your parentage," Kikyo struggled with phrasing, "I'm sorry Inuyasha, but in four days, I will leave." Kikyo turned around and strode away._

_Inuyasha stood there watching her, dumbfounded and heart broken._

O.o

Inuyasha ate his rice slowly during dinner, taking occasional glances at Kagome. Was Miroku right? Did Kagome not hate his guts like she used to? Did she perhaps… like him? Or at the very least tolerate him?

He glanced up at her again, only to see her looking back at him. He lowered his eyes immediately and ate his food a little quicker.

Kagome sighed, a little exasperated and demanded to the whole table, "Okay, why do you all want this so badly? I've come to expect Kouga and the wolves staring, but every one of you are too. I don't get it."

What?

Inuyasha looked at Sango and Miroku who were giving each other guilty looks. Inuyasha didn't know what the heck they were talking about. Sango explained, "Well you see Kagome, you've already figured out that we want you here for something, but we think that the jewel might be able to help us achieve that goal that we are sort of using you for…"

Inuyasha glanced at the jewel around Kagome's neck. _That's_ what Kagome thought he was looking at.

"I'm sorry, but Shippo wants me to take care of it and not give it to anyone," Kagome explained.

"You tell 'em, Kagome!" Shippo cheered happily.

Inuyasha growled, "You're such a little brat."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded, "Don't say that to Shippo."

"Why not? My home," Inuyasha stated huffily.

"Shippo's been through a lot, and it's bad enough he's being hounded by Kouga and his wolves, he doesn't need it from you too."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. Those wolves; he had nearly forgotten about them. "Speaking of which, why aren't they gone yet?"

Kagome became less defensive, "You mean Kouga, Hakkaku, and Ginta?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed even more. Why did she bother to learn their names? "Whatever," he huffed, "Why are they still here? I said they could stay until they were healed. They're demons; they must have healed days ago."

Kagome lowered her head, "You're right, all of them have been fine for the past four days, and they probably could have left a week ago."

"They're probably still after the Shikon no tama," Shippo said, taking a bite of his rice, "I'm surprised they haven't tried to take it already."

Inuyasha looked back to Kagome, "Is that safe?"

"Inuyasha, it's fine. Kouga isn't as bad as you guys think. He understands that I'm not just going to give him the jewel, and I trust he'll leave soon," Kagome said matter-of-factly.

Inuyasha stared at her blankly. He opened his mouth to say something but Kagome interrupted, "Don't call me naïve! I know," Kagome stood up, "I'm done, I'll go talk to him now, okay?"

Kagome picked up her dishes and brought them to the kitchen and soon she was back with trays, walking speedily through the dining room to get to the stairs.

Once out of earshot, Sango wondered doubtfully, "Do you really think they're going to listen to her?"

"Of course not!" Shippo spat, "We're just fortunate that Kouga has the hots for Kagome and doesn't maul her when she steps foot in his room."

All three of the residents got wide-eyed as they stared at Shippo. Inuyasha was the first to respond, "Come again?"

Shippo looked around at his hosts, "He likes Kagome. He _must_. He hasn't attacked her, instead of just killing her to get his revenge on Inuyasha, he puts up with her, and he hasn't even _tried_ to take the jewel from her yet after she asked him not to. If he doesn't want her to like him, I have no idea what he's doing."

"Isn't he just afraid of Kagome's abilities as a priestess?" Miroku inquired.

"As far as I can tell, Kagome doesn't have any _dangerous_ priestess powers, and outside of being able to pinpoint the jewel's location, seemingly none at all," Shippo mused, "Which makes me so sure that he likes her."

"But, what's going to stop him then? Can't he take both the jewel and Kagome then?" Sango asked, "I mean, that sounds the most logical considering his mind set."

"Oh yeah," Shippo cringed, "That's not good."

Inuyasha had heard enough. He stood up and stormed to the stairs. He heard Miroku and Sango call out his name behind him, but he didn't care. It's one thing if Kouga _didn't_ like Kagome and just feared Inuyasha or Kagome's powers. If Kagome ever got attacked and the jewel stolen from her, he could just catch Kouga and take care of him. But if Kouga was in _love _with Kagome, it could be just like Sango said, there shouldn't be anything stopping him from taking both the jewel_ and _Kagome. He just had to hope Kouga hadn't figured that out yet.

Inuyasha stopped right before he hit the hall that Kouga's room was in. His ears picked up voices from the rooms. A good sign. Inuyasha stayed where he was. He shouldn't be out of smelling distance for wolves just yet but he should be able to stay out of detection if Kouga was distracted by Kagome and his nose dulled with the smell of hot rice.

Inuyasha focused all he could on hearing.

"I'm really sorry Kouga, but Inuyasha and the others are concerned about you being here still… especially when you're no longer hurt…" Inuyasha didn't like how nice and wishy-washy Kagome sounded. It sounded like she _wanted_ him to stay.

Kouga let out a laugh, "I see, so mutt-face is finally kicking us out. I was wondering when it was going to happen."

Kagome immediately protested, "Don't say it like that! It isn't really kicking you out; it's just that he's sort of curious why you haven't moved on already, particularly because you already healed."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. No Kagome, it was called 'being kicked out'.

"And it isn't just Inuyasha either," Kagome added, slightly more softly, "it's everybody in the palace… even me…" her voice gained a little more strength, "Kouga, I explained to you that I can't give you the jewel. Please, don't make me have to ask you again not to go after it."

Inuyasha didn't hear anything for a moment. He was worried for a moment until he heard Kouga, "Okay Kagome, we'll leave…"

Inuyasha lowered his head and smirked. Perhaps Kagome did have this down. He began walking away.

"… but I want you to come with us, Kagome."

Inuyasha froze. Kagome must have too, because there was a stunned silence.

"Kagome, you say you don't like it here. I can take you away. You could go home to your family or come live with us. You wouldn't be a prisoner anymore, and you wouldn't have to put up with the mutt anymore! You hate him don't you?"

Inuyasha felt a knife sink into his chest. Every word that Kouga spoke infuriated him further, but hearing that Kagome didn't like him, in fact _hated_ him… it seemed more to wound him more than anything. And… 'put up with the mutt'? Did he annoy her? Was he in the way some how? Inuyasha clenched his hands until his nails pierced his palms. It was happening all over again!!

He was going in there.

"Don't say that, Kouga!"

Inuyasha stopped where he was.

"Kagome..?" Kouga sounded as shocked as Inuyasha.

"I don't hate Inuyasha," Kagome clarified fiercely, "Please do not speak of him like that while you're eating his food and were permitted to stay here at his mercy. And what's this about running off? I can't do that! I owe Inuyasha too much."

"What are talking about?!" Inuyasha heard the ruffling of Kouga standing up, "What on Earth could you possibly owe that mutt?! Have you forgotten?! I thought that he threatened your father's life so he could imprison you, for some mysterious reason that I'm starting to doubt even exists!"

Kouga was panting. Kagome was silent. She breathed in and out, "I know. I have yet to hear or catch onto anything that might suggest I have a purpose… but I think that's why I am sure that there is one. If there isn't one, then what would my being here do? All I would be doing is eating his food and taking up one of his rooms."

Kouga grumbled something that was uncatchable, even for Inuyasha.

"As for what I owe him…" Kagome continued, "He hasn't been i_ncredibly_ kind or anything, but he's been tolerant and patient with me, which is more than I deserve sometimes, "she joked half heartedly, "He also has done a lot of favors for me. Even though it cost me my freedom, he let my father live, he saved my little brother, and allowed him, Rin, and Shippo to stay here as they healed, and he also let me save you, Kouga. He didn't have to, but he did. So both you and I have him to thank."

Inuyasha started to blush a little. She made him sound so… _nice_. It made him feel a little guilty because he wasn't, not even close.

Kouga snorted, but in a much calmer fashion than he was previously, "I'm not thanking him for nothin'."

Kagome gave a relieved laugh, perhaps over that Kouga calmed down, "You don't need to. I doubt he'll care anyway."

Kouga sighed, "So, you really need us to leave then huh?"

"It _is_ making the household uncomfortable."

"Fine, okay, I get it," Kouga ceded, "But keep in mind Kagome, I can't guarantee that I won't come back and attack the castle. I still want that jewel."

"Kouga!" Kagome chided.

"You could still come along with me…"

"Not gonna happen."

"Alright, we'll leave tomorrow morning, but remember: I _always_ get what I want."

Inuyasha got a sinking feeling that Kouga wasn't always talking abut the jewel.

"Thank you Kouga. I'm happy that we got to resolve this without bringing Inuyasha in… physically at least. I'll go tell him after I feed Hakkaku and Ginta." Shoji doors opened and Kagome added, "I knew you were a good person, Kouga."

Inuyasha sneered and just barely picked up Kouga saying, "I'm not _that_ good, Kagome…"

Inuyasha looked down at the floor, pondering Kagome's words, and went back down stairs to wait for Kagome to tell them the news.

O.o

I'm sorry for anybody who likes Kaede (from the original Inuyasha) I made her so out of character and mean!!!! Oh well. I feel a little awkward answering my reviews... but I will anyway, even if you guys don't see them... ;;

Priestessmykala: Yeah, no kidding. Thanks! Personally I thought the analogy wouldn't be liked, but I'm so happy that you enjoyed it.

RK Ryune: I'm not so sure I'll hear from you now. (it's been so long... ;;) What??!!! I'm doing character developing O.O When did that happen???? Well, looking back, I guess I did... I didn't really realize it at the time, but thank you. Hmmm... kaede, huh? Your prediction is appreciated.

Dragon-neko383: Yeah... I reeeaaallly doubt that you'll be even seeing this, so I may just not bother (I know this person personally, all my other reviewers). However, the review itself was just uncharacteristically chock-full of compliments which I just adored.

sneakyteaky: yay! A review with questions! My favorite! 1) If the wolves were out chasing Shippo for a long time, wouldn't they smell really bad? -Yes, they smell terrible, and haven't had a single bath upon arriving at the palace. You are entirely correct. 2) Wouldn't the rest of Kouga's pack want to attack the palace to avenge their "fallen leader" seeing as they should probably assume he's dead? - I'm going to say that the majority of the pack are wusses, they are too afraid of Inuyasha with his big sword, Kouga was probably the only real honorable leader of the bunch, and they are too preoccupied with drawing straws or something to pick the new leader to go avenge Kouga... None of this will appear in the story... 3) Did Kagome ever get her shoes? -Nope, never. Just where she left them, right by the slippers. Yours was the most recent review so i hope that you see this!!! ;;;


	13. Miko to Youkai

Yay! people actually _looked_ at my story! I'm thinking of rewriting some other chapters in here... not adding anything new or anything, just sort of proofreading it and rewriting some stuff with bad punctuation or phrasing...

Chapitre 13

Miko to Youkai (A Priestess and a Demon)

By Auroras-flame

"Kouga, we're actually leaving?!" Ginta cried in disbelief.

"Without the jewel?!" Hakkaku added.

"Yup tomorrow," Kouga confirmed.

It was fairly late at night, but Kouga and his men rarely slept at night, so it was quite a perfect time to ponder over and plan while their hosts were fast asleep. Hakkaku and Ginta had gathered in Kouga's room in response to the recent news over them leaving the next day.

"We're actually going to let them keep it?" Ginta asked, unbelieving.

"Of course not," Kouga spat, "We're only going back to get recruitments. We'll steal the jewel and we'll be the strongest pack in the world."

Understanding dawned on both the wolves' faces, "Ohh, I get it," Ginta grinned. Hakkaku frowned however, "What about Kagome, Kouga? Are you really going to eat her, or are you going to bring her home?" Ginta lost his smile too, "Oh yeah, you know, I'd sort of feel guilty killing her after she's been so nice to us… and you like her too don't you?"

Kouga smirked, "I'm going to make her my woman."

Ginta and Hakkaku's mouths dropped open, "What?!"

"Think about it. She has the jewel, I've heard from her that she's a priestess, so if we try to just steal it, she will likely purify our asses, but if we take _her_ along with the jewel and I make her my woman, we get the jewel, the handler, and it's detector."

"Detector?" Ginta said.

"Oh yeah, she can sense the jewel and see it no matter where it is," Hakkaku recalled.

"It would come in really handy if it ever got stolen," Kouga said proudly, "Not only that, and she isn't bad looking."

"But… uh… Kouga, we couldn't help but overhear your talk in the other room and… um… didn't she say she _wouldn't_ come with us?" Hakkaku mentioned warily.

Kouga grinned sneakily, "I warned her I always get what I want. I'm not going to take no for an answer."

Hakkaku folded his arms and looked upward in thought, "Well, _I_ wouldn't mind Kagome as a sister, but what about the rest of the pact?"

"They'll deal with it," Kouga said irrevocably.

O.o

_Inuyasha walked back to his room slowly. Only three more days until Kikyo would leave. He hadn't seen her at all since she told him they could never work. He tried to see her in the most discreet ways possible. He actually attended every Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner in the main dining room in hope that she would show up for one of the meals. But she didn't._

_He arrived at the steps of his room to see a pair of petite familiar slippers beside the stairs. As soon as he saw the slippers he caught her scent coming from his room. He ascended to his room and saw there sitting on his bed: Kaede._

_She gave him an obligatory nod, "Inuyasha-sama."_

_Inuyasha snarled, "Get out of my room, Kaede. I never invited you in here." She was the one who had convinced Kikyo to keep away from him._

_Kaede was completely unaffected by him, "I have come in regards to my sister, Inuyasha-sama."_

"_What else?" he sneered._

"_As ye know, the half demon Naraku is coming in two days. Being able to extract lesser demons out of his body, he will set them upon Kikyo and ye will save her from those and then the task shall be done."_

"_I know that."_

"_I'm sure ye do. But I have come here to say don't ye dare do anything that would prolong our stay for unnecessary weeks," Kaede said darkly._

"_What?" The thought actually never crossed his mind. Kikyo said she would leave after Naraku came no matter what happened._

"_Ye heard me Inuyasha. Don't pull anything foolish to burden us and keep us here longer. After ten days, we leave regardless of what ye do," Kaede said._

_Inuyasha only got more confused, "You mean after three days…"_

_Kaede looked perplexed now, "Pardon?"_

"_You and Kikyo are leaving after only three days, right?" Inuyasha said, "Right after Naraku comes and goes, you Kikyo pack up because your father said you couldn't stay the extra week."_

_Kaede protested, "There was no such command-" she stopped herself and a small demonic smile appeared on her lips. Inuyasha's heart sunk. It couldn't be-_

"_We never received such a letter, Inuyasha," she giggled cruelly, "Kikyo lied. She lied so we could leave quicker."_

_Inuyasha felt a sword pierce his heart. _

_Kaede stood up and walked to the stairs, smiling proudly to herself the entire way, "What I said actually got through. My sister…" Kaede turned around, "never could love a demon. It would just never work. A priestess and a demon is just _**impossible**._"_

O.o

Rin sat at the Higurashi table silently, taking long sips of her tea. Dinners were almost always a little awkward for her.

Souta's mother was curious about her and would frequently ask questions about her life and how she met Souta.

Souta's grandfather was a little more forward in strait up asking why she came back with Souta. He didn't really seem to trust her for some reason, or at least thought that her sudden appearance was much too spontaneous. Fortunately, he was out with a client now and couldn't ask Rin questions she couldn't answer.

Mr. Higurashi however treated her the most oddly, and she was surprised that none in the family but her and Souta realized how odd he treated her. He was kind, there was no doubt about that. Rin figured that it was because she told him of what Kagome really wanted to say. However, whenever Rin would speak to say _anything_ Mr. Higurashi would tense up. It was like he was _afraid_ of her words or something. Perhaps because he didn't know her so well, he wasn't sure if she would spill out the secret or not. She supposed that it was understandable, but it was sort of distracting.

Souta was acting a little weird too. He was great and fine whenever he was alone with Rin, but whenever she brought up his father, or Kagome, or his father entered the room, he would get really quiet. A dangerous quiet. Rin absolutely hated it.

Rin sighed and lifted up her hair so some cool air could get on her neck. He was sort of over heating.

Ms. Higurashi gasped and dropped her chopsticks. Rin let go of her hair and looked around trying to see what shocked Ms. Higurashi so.

"Rin-chan, your neck!" Ms. Higurashi exclaimed. Understanding dawned on Rin and she instinctively put her hand up to cover the bite marks. She and Souta had never thought up a story to explain why her neck was ruined, so Rin had tried to keep it covered up until now…

"Oh… yes," Rin smiled weakly.

"What on Earth happened?" Ms. Higurashi asked out of concern, "It looks like a dog bit you!"

Rin notices Mr. Higurashi tense up completely. Rin shook her head and said, "It was a wolf."

Ms. Higurashi's eyes became puzzled, "A wolf?" She turned to her son, "I thought you said there wasn't a wolf in sight at that mountain."

Mr. Higurashi was still tensing up, but he was also confused now too.

Rin heard Souta curse under his breath and Rin pulled out a lie, "Oh, this bite was from before I met Souta. It isn't from our trip."

Both Mr. and Ms. Higurashi's eyes widened a bit in understanding. Ms. Higurashi said, "I see." To Rin's surprise, she stood up and walked over behind her and lifted up her hair to examine the bite. Rin became stone as Ms. Higurashi looked it over and finally began tsk-ing, "I see it was still fairly recent. The person who bandaged you was pretty good, but still an amateur… it looks like they tied the bandage too tight or something… This almost looks like Kago-" Souta's mother stopped herself and lowered her head. Rin felt bad for her, but was more impressed on how she could identify such specific conditions like that and _name_ the one who treated her.

Ms. Higurashi rose, "I'll go get some bandages and disinfectant." She exited the dining room. There was an awkward, cool silence after she left. Rin glanced over at Souta who had his face buried in his hand. Rin then looked at Mr. Higurashi who wasn't looking so tense, but staring at the door from which his wife left with sorrowful eyes.

"You should tell her, you know."

Both Rin and Mr. Higurashi looked over at Souta.

"You should tell her about Kagome," Souta said, "Really, you should have told all of us before you took Kagome, or you should have gone back by yourself, even then, telling all of us."

Rin frowned. She didn't want him doing this again. Souta was brutally cruel when it came to his father in these situations.

"I know."

Now the surprise shifted to Souta.

"I know I should have told everyone the second I got back. I also know that I should have just gone back myself and died. I know, Souta," Mr. Higurashi said, "But… he assured me Kagome would live… comfortably, and wasn't it so?"

"She's a prisoner," Souta remarked critically.

"But is she unhappy?"

Souta refused to answer, so Rin did, "She's content." Souta shot her a glare, but she didn't care.

"Then I'm content," Father said.

"Well, I'm not," Souta snapped, "It just isn't fair! Even if Kagome's okay with it and you're okay with it, Momma and Grandpa think she's dead! That just isn't fair to them. And what really ticks me off is the fact that you lied to us and traded my sister!"

"I was thinking of telling your mother," Mr. Higurashi admitted, "Not grandpa though, he'd have an angry mob assembled before we could explain the real situation to him, and even then I don't think he would care," Mr. Higurashi shot Souta a look, "You get that from him," he continued, "But your mom, it kills me to see her like that… especially since it is my fault."

"You should tell her anyway," Rin insisted.

Mr. Higurashi watched as she continued, "Ms. Higurashi seems like a reasonable person. I'm sure she'll understand and see things the way that Kagome sees them. Everyone turned out alive and well. That's what matters. And she can't blame you any more than she could now…" Mr. Higurashi gave a slightly bewildered look for which Rin responded, "You _were_ the one who took her up into those mountains and when she got "eaten by the wolves" and then pretty much ditched her and she ended up "dying" because of it. Telling her can only make your situation better."

Ms. Higurashi reentered the room with bandages and disinfectant and went strait behind Rin. At first, Rin was worried that she had overheard what she was saying, but apparently not for ms. Higurashi didn't say a word.

O.o

Kagome lied awake in bed. She wasn't sure why couldn't sleep, but she couldn't. She wasn't too concerned about Kouga. She wouldn't be surprised if he came back, but she couldn't imagine him pulling a stunt like attacking the palace.

She rolled over in her bed. The rest of the household was a little more disturbed by Kouga's threat. She didn't mention to them that Kouga wanted her to join him. It would only upset everyone and Kagome didn't want that.

Sango and Miroku handled the threat the best. They were calm, but still grave. It was clear that they didn't share the trust that Kagome felt for Kouga.

Shippo was shaken. He established that he was likely to leave for a little while after the wolves left and then become more of a temporary visitor than a permanent resident of the castle. Kagome assured him that he should just stay and he didn't need to be so worried because they would protect him. She fully expected Inuyasha to scoff and tell Shippo to just leave, but he didn't.

Inuyasha was acting extremely peculiar actually. He had little response to anything she said. For the most part of her explanation he just stared down at the floor in front of him in thought, with an extremely hard, un-Inuyasha-like, expression on his face. His face was usually hard, but this time it was different. He didn't look angry or pout-y, he looked thoughtful. Was he really so disturbed by Kouga's words? It was hard to believe.

Kagome finally sat up and threw her legs over the edge of the bed. She just wasn't tired. Perhaps a walk would make her a little more tired. As long as she didn't go outside, Inuyasha shouldn't freak out.

Kagome exited her room as quietly as she could. She wasn't too sure where Miroku's or Sango's room were, but if they were nearby, she didn't want to wake them up.

Kagome strolled around her floor, checking out each hall she could find. All of the doors to each room were closed so she didn't want to recklessly explore them. It would be pretty embarrassing if one of them turned out to be Sango's or Miroku's room.

After thoroughly exploring each hall on the second floor, she walked to the staircase and speculated if she should explore the bottom floor or the third. Kouga was up on the third, and she wasn't quite sure if he slept at night or not, but either way he could probably smell her if she got to close and that would disturb him. She decided to go to the bottom floor.

She wandered to all the familiar places first: the kitchen, dining room, boiler room. Next she headed toward the entry hall, in attempt to get to the room there where all the dried Yamaibara and pictures were.

She tiptoed over to the door. She probably didn't need to be this silent, but it only felt right given the dead silence of everything… or rather, nothing… around her on this dead mountain. She reached up to touch the door.

"What are you doing?"

Kagome turned around, frightened. She looked around the room, not seeing anybody, only making her even more freaked out.

"Up here."

Kagome looked up at an old chandelier that she never really paid attention to until now. Sitting in it was Inuyasha looking down at her. She couldn't see his face at all because of the dark, but she assumed he was angry.

Kagome panicked, not wanting to look like she was escaping, and knowing full well that she must have looked pretty bad being out in the entry hall at some ungodly hour at night, "Inuyasha! I know what it looks like, but I assure you: I was not trying to escape."

She heard him sigh, "It's okay, I know you weren't."

Kagome must have given the most perplexed face because Inuyasha answered her question before she was even able to ask it, "I would hope by now that you would know the difference between the grand doors that lead outside and the shoji door that leads into a closet."

Kagome gave a laugh of relief, happy that Inuyasha actually used logic this time. Maybe he wasn't angry…

"So, why are you up?" Inuyasha asked, sounding not too interested.

"Couldn't sleep; you?" Kagome sat down on the ground cross-legged.

"I don't fall asleep usually until a lot later," he explained.

"Ah, I see," Kagome murmured. There was an awkward silence. She finally broke the silence with the question that had plagued her, "Inuyasha…?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Kagome pulled her legs close to her, "Tonight at dinner, when I got back from Kouga you seemed a little… weird…"

Inuyasha didn't answer for a while. Finally he said, "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do," Kagome accused softly, "You didn't say a word and you were staring at the ground the whole time… you aren't _that _worried about Kouga's threat are you?"

"Feh," Inuyasha scoffed from his perch, "I'm not afraid of that wolf. I can take him."

Kagome giggled, "That's what I thought. So then," she returned to her serious tone, "what's wrong?"

Inuyasha gave another pause before answering, "There's nothing wrong. Can't a guy just think quietly to himself every once in a while? Sheesh."

Kagome's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Really?"

"Yeah. Nothin's wrong."

Kagome frowned with uncertainty, "Okay, if you say so." She leaned up against the wall behind her, "Hey, why don't you come down? My neck's sort of hurting from looking up there."

"I like it up here," Inuyasha said firmly.

"Fine, fine," Kagome sighed. Only a short pause occurred before Kagome asked, "Hey Inuyasha, why don't we talk more?"

"What are you talking about? We talk everyday."

"Yeah, I know, but only at meals, and never one on one. I talk with Miroku pretty often, and I talk alone with Sango nearly all the time, and even Kouga and I have talked outside of meal time."

Inuyasha grumbled something she couldn't hear, she chose to ignore it and continued, "But we never talk. I think it has only been three or four times…? And the majority of it was extremely short and it was when I hated you to pieces. Not exactly the best circumstances."

"What would talking do?" Inuyasha said coldly, "Yeah, so we have time to talk, but what would we talk about? I certainly can't think of a thing."

Kagome scowled at his pessimism, "Anything we want. Here, let me start: Inuyasha, what are some of your hobbies?"

"What the hell?"

"Just answer it."

Inuyasha grumbled, "I don't know. Practicing with my sword… or something…"

"Oh, yeah! You have that gigantic changing sword! Where did you get it from?"

"…My father gave it to me…"

Kagome suddenly got a sinking feeling. She asked very carefully, "At the risk of being intrusive and a jerk… is he dead?"

"Yes."

"Let's change subjects then," Kagome decided, "Umm… the red haori you wear everywhere, where did you get that from?"

"My father gave it to my mother, who gave it to me."

Kagome lowered her head in shame, "She isn't dead too, is she?"

"Yes."

"Okay, let's change subjects again then," Kagome suggested.

"Don't bother," Inuyasha hopped off the chandelier and began to walk away.

Kagome stood up, "Wait Inuyasha! I'm sorry."

Inuyasha halted only to say in an indifferent voice, "It's okay, you didn't know."

Kagome cringed. The fact that he let it go so easily made her feel worse. She took a couple steps toward him, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to learn a little more about you. It feels so awkward not knowing, and I was hoping we could be… since we have to live together and all… I don't know… friends or something?"

Inuyasha turned around to face her, his eyes were cold, "Kagome, you come from a shrine, right? You're a priestess, right?"

"Yes…" Kagome said warily, a little on edge by Inuyasha's eyes.

"Didn't they ever teach you not to befriend demons?!" he shot icily, "I'm a demon, Kagome," he threw up a clawed hand to further his point, "Humans and demons aren't supposed to be friends," he brought down his hand, "let alone demons and priestesses."

Kagome bit her lower lip. She bit it hard. She had never seen Inuyasha act this way. She couldn't even bring herself to argue. It felt impossible to while he was staring at her with those cold eyes. She stood there shocked and hurt.

Inuyasha lowered his eyes and clenched his hand before turning around, "A demon and a priestess is just **impossible**." He began walking away again.

"That's a stupid reason."

Inuyasha froze mid-step.

Kagome regained her composure just a little bit and continued, "That's a stupid reason. If you just don't want to be friends with me, fine, but because you're a half demon and I'm from a family of priests? That's lame and idiotic."

Inuyasha didn't say anything.

Kagome took his silence as an opportunity to rant more, "You're a hanyou, aren't you? That means that you were the product of a human and a demon. If a demon and a human can love one another, I'm sure we can be just friends. But if you just hate me, fine, don't be my friend, forget it-"

Inuyasha finally turned around, stopping Kagome's words; his eyes no longer cold, but just sad.

Kagome became worried, "Inuyasha…?" She approached him and tried to touch his shoulder, but he backed away from her hand before she could even brush him.

"I'm fine, Kagome," he told her.

Kagome brought her hand to her chest and watched Inuyasha carefully, feeling guilty for saying such awful stuff to him.

He turned around again and said, "I'm a little tired. I'll go to sleep now." Kagome bit her lip, feeling the guilt grow against her.

"Good night."

Kagome's eyes widened a little. She gave a small, relieved smile, "Good night Inuyasha."

O.o

Yeah, so it was THIS chapter, not the last one, that had kaede being really mean and out of character. --; Fortunately, no one seemed to notice... Now some responses to my reviewers!

Stephanie: Thank you! I'll try to keep updating and hopefully finish this story by the end of the summer (hopefully...)

Priestessmykala: Yay! Friend! I'm so happy that some people are still here from when I was. Thank you for the review!!!


	14. Ningen no Neuchi

Hello all! My wish is to update as quickly as possible, so here's the new one! I plan to update every time the current conditions are so: 1) At least twenty people have read my last chapter (20 hits), 2) At least two people have reviewed since I last posted (I'm not too greedy, they don't even need to be particularly good reviews) and 3) I'm at least four Microsoft Word pages into the next chapter, ensuring that I don't slack off and forget my story.

Please enjoy the next chapter, but I warn you, some parts are pretty angsty or gruesome. But I added some fluff and comedy too, so this should be a chapter that everyone should at least enjoy a _part_ of… I hope….

Chapitre 14

Ningen no Neuchi (A Human's Worth)

Auroras-flame

The day had come. Kouga was finally leaving the palace. Kagome had gathered the three before breakfast and brought them down onto the first floor. Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha were there also to "bid them farewell", Inuyasha with his sword curiously unsheathed and Sango mysteriously in her fighting outfit. Miroku looked like the only one that was unguarded, and even then, he carried a staff. Shippo was nowhere to be seen.

At the entry way, Kagome gave a small bow to Kouga, Hakkaku, and Ginta, "Good bye, it was really great meeting you. Please come visit us again some time."

"Don't invite them like this is your place!" Inuyasha called from a distance.

Kagome blatantly ignored him, "It was nice that I got to become friends with you Kouga, you too Hakkaku, Ginta."

Inuyasha growled at Kagome's indifference, "Why that- I'm going over there."

Miroku chuckled, "What happened to 'Kagome wouldn't appreciate it'?"

"Feh," Inuyasha scoffed, "This is different." He sped over to right behind Kagome and threw Tessaiga over his shoulder, "You- don't let me catch you on my lands again you hear!" he flicked Tessaiga at Kouga to accent his point.

"Inuyasha! I can't believe how rude you are!" Kagome huffed.

"It's okay Kagome," Kouga assured her with a smile, he turned to Inuyasha, "Mutt."

Inuyasha growled, "What didya call me, wolf?"

"Ya heard me ya insolent puppy."

"Insolent-! You're the one that's insolent you-"

"Stop!" Kagome tried to separate them by pushing them apart by their chests, but Inuyasha dodged it and sneered. Kagome glared warningly, "Let's try to perform this goodbye civilly, shall we?" she glanced over at Kouga, "You too, please."

Kouga sighed, and took the hand that she placed on his chest into his hands, "Thank you so much for your kindness, Kagome. Be assured that it won't go unrewarded."

Kagome gave a silly embarrassed look for being called kind that made Inuyasha want to puke and said, "Oh no, Kouga, you don't have to do that."

"But I will," Kouga assured her, still clasping her hand, "I'll return before the new moon. Wait for me."

Kagome tried to gently pull her hand out of Kouga's, but to no avail, "Oh, believe me, I'm not going anywhere." Finally he let go and Kagome reclaimed her hand, a little weirded out.

"So long, Kagome!" he called to her before turning around, "Hakkaku, Ginta, let's go."

"Yes sir!"

"Good bye Kagome!"

The three left off running down the stairs and off the hill. Kagome sort of cradled the hand that Kouga had clasped for so long. That was sort of weird…

"You can't tell me that didn't freak you out," Inuyasha accused, looking at the hand as if it was contaminated.

Kagome laughed slowly, "Yeah, I admit, it kind of did."

"'Back before the new moon'…" mused Miroku, approaching the two with Sango, "Well, isn't that ominous."

Inuyasha growled at Miroku. Kagome asked, "What's so ominous about that?" No one answered her. Kagome's eyebrows furrowed and she turned to Sango, "Sango?"

She shook her head, "it isn't my information to tell," she motioned towards Inuyasha, "he's gotta tell you, not me."

Kagome gave Inuyasha a slightly hopeful look which was quickly shot down with a, "NO."

Kagome gave an exasperated shout, "Oh, come on! Am I never going to find out?! Does it have something to do with why I am here?"

"Technically, no," Miroku admitted.

Inuyasha growled again to which Miroku replied defensively, "What? What is it going to hurt?"

Inuyasha snarled and sheathed Tessaiga, "Don't tell her." He turned around and walked towards the stairs. Kagome frowned and made sure to say before he got out of doggy-earshot, "What a grouch." He let out a 'feh' as a confirmation that he heard her, but didn't stop walking.

O.o

Within a few short hours Kouga, Hakkaku, and Ginta were outside the wolf den.

Ginta practically had tears in his eyes, "It's so good to be home!!!!!!" Hakkaku nodded his head in agreement.

Kouga walked up to the grand waterfall that hid their den from any unwanted visitors. He jumped up and through it, ensuring a grand entrance for his pack. And sure enough, when he jumped through, nearly half the pack stared back at him in shock and amazement.

"…Kouga!!!"

"He's alive!!"

"Hakkaku and Ginta too!"

Kouga looked around and smiled a little darkly, "Well, aren't you all happy and comfortable!!!" The pack flinched, as did Hakkaku and Ginta. Kouga snarled, "Who was elected leader while I was gone, huh? Because I KNOW that _my_ pack wouldn't have not even TRIED to avenge me or even check if I was alive or not unless some new leader with no pride or guts told you not to."

The pack nodded their heads, too afraid to say anything contrary and pointed strait at where the leader's den was, where Kouga's room had once been. Kouga strolled right into it and saw one of his old, lower wolf-grunts in his bed with some demon wench.

The new wolf chief looked away from his mate for a moment and saw Kouga. His eyes widened in disbelief and he stuttered, "Ko- Kouga!!! You're al-!" His sentence was cut short by Kouga kicking him strait in the face and bashing in his nose and skull, killing him instantly with five precise kicks. The she-wolf gasped and ran out of the room, fleeing for her life. Kouga didn't pursue her. Instead he picked up the body of the former new leader by the slightly intact neck and brought it out into the main den and held the bloody mass up to all of his inferiors.

He gave the sweet smile of a devil and asked, "Now that the scum has been removed from the group, I trust the rest of you will think a little clearer in the future." The pack cowered in fear and bowed their heads in allegiance. Kouga smirked and tossed the corpse aside, "Very well. Now: Let us discuss what you should have done as soon as a new leader was selected."

He sat down on a throne-like rock, "Hakkaku. Ginta." He motioned for them to come over by him. Both of them couldn't be happier to be in their lord's good graces. They scurried over and sat on either side of him. Kouga began, "What you should have done, what you _would_ have done if an adequate leader was picked, was gather reinforcements and go back to that mountain and avenge your fallen comrades and leader. And although, as you can see, two of your lost comrades are safe and well as well as your leader, there are still six who died that need to be avenged… because of that," he leaned in and gave a dramatic pause, "we attack the palace in two nights."

The wolves cheered and shouted joyous war cries, more for the sake of pleasing Kouga than for avenging their fallen, although they definitely wanted to.

Kouga leaned back, satisfied with his return and his packs response. Hakkaku leaned over towards Kouga, "Kouga, shouldn't we tell them about Kagome…?"

Kouga smiled, "Ah yes!" he stood up, "I'm sure you all are wondering what became of the Shikon no tama, right?"

The pack gave a small silence for just a moment or two, before remembering the jewel.

"Oh, yeaaahhhh!!!!"

"Do you have it, Kouga?!"

"Where is it?"

Kouga relayed the tale of what happened over the past week. He spoke of the fight, Kagome's abilities, how Kagome had saved his life and nursed him back to health, and how she had become in possession of the jewel. "So when we attack the palace," Kouga went on, "no one shall attack the girl Kagome, I will claim her as my woman and the jewel along with it!"

"What?!"

"Are you serious, Kouga?!"

Kouga snarled, "Didn't you hear me? That woman is five- no- **ten** times the worth of some demon wench!! She can see the jewel and pinpoint its exact location. If it were ever stolen, we could find him and catch him in an instant. She also has the ability to protect it in a way we could not. Her worth is beyond measure!"

The pack thought it over and had to admit that Kouga had some very good points… and to say otherwise would mean their heads so…

"Okay!"

"She doesn't sound so bad for a human!"

"I like her already!"

Kouga smirked.

O.o (AN: haha, I wanted his pack to be a little stupid… talk about sheep in wolves clothing)

_Inuyasha descended from his room in a slow and depressed manner. Ever since yesterday, ever since Kaede had said that they were permitted to leave a week later, but Kikyo wanted to leave earlier… Why did she despise him so much…?_

_His foot hit something on the last step. He looked down to see Kaede's slippers sitting there. How dare she?! She scolds him and then mocks his pain, and then just leaves her stupid slippers outside his room?! He reared back his foot to kick the slippers away from his room and hopefully out a window, but memories of Kaede laughing about how Kikyo didn't want to stay here longer flashed in his mind, and he just didn't have the energy or will power to kick it. _

_He sighed and stared at the slippers pathetically. He lowered is foot. Why would Kikyo lie to him like that? She wouldn't lie to her father because that was just wrong, but lying to him was alright. I mean, he was just a _demon,_ right? He didn't have feelings or anything._

_Suddenly a thought popped into his head. Maybe Kikyo wasn't lying. Maybe it was Kaede! It was entirely possible. Kaede completely hated his guts, she would do something like that. He would ask Miroku's father. If Kikyo's father had sent any letters of any kind, they would travel through Noroubido first. _

_Inuyasha walked quickly, practically running, to Noroubido's quarters. If he wasn't there now, he would wait for him, because if he wasn't in his room, he was with his father or some girl. His room would be the only place where he could ask without being judged by anyone else. _

_Inuyasha reached his room and knocked on the wood of the shoji door, "Noroubido! You in there?!"_

_To his luck, Noroubido opened the door. He wasn't wearing his normal monks robe, but some odd black kimono. His eyes widened slightly, "Inuyasha-sama! What a surprise! Can't say I was expecting you to show up outside my room…"_

"_Noroubido!' Inuyasha interrupted, he then noticed Noroubido's outfit, "What's with the new clothes…"_

_Noroubido looked at him oddly, "Surely you know…"_

_Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. It was probably some fancy banquet his father set up or something, he shook it off, "Never mind. By any chance, did Kikyo and Kaede receive a reply back from their father?"_

_Noroubido blinked, "Why, yes, just a few days ago. I relayed it to Kikyo-san. I trust she's told you, too."_

_Inuyasha broke out in a grin. It was true, Kikyo did have to leave! Well, that was sad, but it was better than her just leaving because she didn't want to see him. _

_Noroubido gave a grin, "You're that happy, huh?"_

_Inuyasha stopped grinning, not understanding why Noroubido would be grinning. Shouldn't it look like Inuyasha wanted Kikyo to leave then? If anything, Noroubido should be frowning._

"_You're that happy that your Kikyo can stay as long as two extra weeks! Ho ho, Inuyasha-sama I'm so proud of you," Noroubido chuckled._

"_What?" all hope in Inuyasha vanished like a candle being blown out. Two weeks-? What did he mean?_

_Noroubido raised his eyebrows, "You mean she didn't tell you? As opposed as the extra week she requested, Harumura-san said his daughters could stay for two! Pretty convenient for you, eh Inuyasha-sama?"_

_Inuyasha just stared at him with shocked and hurt eyes. Noroubido's smile disappeared for a concerned frown, "Inuyasha-sama?" He tried to put his hand on his shoulder, but Inuyasha side-stepped it and just left, walking slowly and his heart shattered._

O.o

Kagome stared at Inuyasha pathetically during dinner time. He hadn't spoken to her since this morning when she called him a grouch. She even tried to talk to him during breakfast and lunch, but he ignored her! Sango assured her during bath-time that he was just distracted and he likely wasn't mad about her calling a grouch. Kagome admitted, it was a stupid thing to get angry over, especially since she clearly didn't mean it, but he wasn't even recognizing her existence! What else could it be?

When Kagome could no longer take it anymore, she threw down her chopsticks and bowed her head, "Okay!!! I'm sorry!! Alright?!! I'm sorry Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha looked at her with nothing but confusion on his face, a face which was also stuffed full with rice. He swallowed it, "Eh?"

"You've been ignoring me!" Kagome accused, "I don't know why you're being so childish and being so stubborn just because I called you a grouch, but you win! It's driving me crazy! I'm sorry!"

"What the hell are you talking about…?" Inuyasha asked.

"Kagome-sama has tried talking to you on a number of occasions today Inuyasha, but you haven't spoken a word to her" Miroku explained.

Inuyasha looked surprised, "What? Really?" he shrugged, "I've just been distracted, that's all."

Kagome raised her head, "Really?"

Sango hissed, "I told you, Kagome…"

Inuyasha gave Kagome a look, "Did me not talking really bother you that much?"

Kagome blushed. She turned away and coughed, "No- no, not at all, in fact, I think it might have been a good change."

"You're really weird."

Miroku and Sango leaned close together. Miroku commented, "Is it just me, or has there been a reverse in roles?" Sango nodded silently.

Kagome regained her composure and took a breath, "Well, since you _aren't_ angry with me, there's a favor I've been wanting to ask you."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "A favor?"

Kagome nodded, "Would you mind… if I walk outside every once in a while, maybe even get off the mountain sometimes so I can see some wildlife besides the Yamaibara?"

Inuyasha's eyes were still narrow, but after a moments pause, he said, "Only if Miroku or Sango escort you."

Kagome gave an exasperated sigh.

"What? You don't want to be Miroku or Sango?" Inuyasha asked not understanding her problem.

Kagome shook her head, "It isn't that, it's the fact that you still don't trust me enough to not run away," she folded her arms, "I was hoping you would trust me more by now…"

"Fool," Inuyasha scoffed.

Kagome bristled, "Wha?!"

"I want you to be escorted by Sango or Miroku so you _won't get lost_," Inuyasha clarified.

Kagome's face relaxed. She gave Inuyasha a sweet smile, "Thank you. Thank you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha blushed ever so slightly and turned his head away, "Feh."

Miroku and Sango snickered from the other end of the table.

O.o

After dinner Sango was sitting in her room quietly reading a book that she had actually read three times by now, but the people who brought supplies and food from elsewhere were yet scheduled to show up for another week, so she made do with what she had.

Someone knocked on her door. Sango peered at the shoji curiously. Almost no one came into her room… except…

"Come in," Sango said unsurely.

Miroku peered his head through and smiled, "Hello, my dear."

"Ah, Miroku, how unusual for you to knock," she replied with a flat tone.

"That's because I'm here on business, my love," Miroku brought his entire body in and walked over to her bed.

"Business?" Sango repeated.

"Yes, business," he plopped himself next to her, "Inuyasha and Kagome-sama, huh? Those two are getting pretty close don't you think?"

Sango put down her book, "Oh, so you're here to gossip."

Miroku grinned and nodded his head, "I'm just so proud that he's finally getting over Kikyo-san. I was worried that he wouldn't ever look at a girl again…"

Sango sneered, "She was a bitch. She didn't deserve Inuyasha's love. I never could figure out what he liked about her…"

Miroku chuckled, "Really? I could. Starting with her perfect figure…"

"Continue and die."

"Yes, love."

Sango smiled, "I really like Kagome-chan though. She's so nice and sweet. She's even trying to appease us, even though we have been so unreasonable."

Miroku smiled as well, "It looks like you've gotten really close to Kagome-chan."

Sango nodded, "I really didn't expect to. I thought that she would hate me along with everone in this palace when I first met her. but I'm happy that she opened up to me and made me her friend. She's the first real female friend that I've had since…" Sango thought it over, "actually, since ever." She frowned, "That's kind of sad, isn't it?"

Miroku laughed, "It's because you always were with Inuyasha, Kohaku, and me. There weren't many other girls your age here and the one's that were could never keep up with your…" Miroku looked for the right word, "…athleticism… like us boys could… and then all the girls your age left."

"…And Kohaku…" Sango murmured.

Miroku stopped laughing and acquired a more solemn face, "Sango… it could have been a lot worse…"

"I know, I know," Sango assured him, "But… I wish I could just see him. It's been so long, I wonder what he looks like…"

"At least he's alive…"

Sango turned her head towards Miroku, eyes filled with sympathy, "Gomen, Miroku. At least my brother is alive while your parents…!"

"No, Sango, don't say that, you lost a father too, remember? And you were much closer to him than I was to either of my parents… combined," Miroku said a little pitifully.

Sango began to tear up. She clenched her dress up in her hands as Miroku hovered over her chanting, "Oh, Sango, Sango, Sango, don't cry. I didn't come in here to make you cry."

That made her sob.

"It's all her fault!" she exclaimed, "I blame Kikyo! It's all her stupid fault! If she hadn't-" Sango was interrupted by one of her own sobs.

Miroku winced, and in a second, held her in his arms in an attempt at comfort. Sango stopped sobbing, but there were still tears in her eyes. She was shocked silent.

"I'm sorry, Sango," he said, full of sincerity. Sango began to blush. He was being so sweet, she couldn't believe it.

"Uh… er… Miroku, I'm okay now… You know how I hate being hugged…" Sango stuttered quietly after a minute or two of being held by him. Despite her small protest, she made no attempt to get away. He didn't release her. She blushed a little deeper, "Miroku…?"

Her backside received a good rubbing.

Sango's blush turned into a flush of rage. She pushed him away and slapped him across the face, "MIROKU!!!!!"

"Ouch," Miroku whimpered merrily, rubbing his face.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT??!!!!" Sango shouted.

"Well, you said you were okay, so I thought I shouldn't pass up the opportunity…?" he chuckled warily.

Sango lowered her head in anger and growled darkly, "Get out."

"Eh?" Miroku said.

"GET OUT!!!!!!!" she screamed and she kicked him until he left her room. She slammed the shoji door the second he was out in the hall yelling, "You spoil EVERYTHING!!!!!"

O.o

_Inuyasha ambled through the halls of the palace without any specific destination. He hadn't confronted Kikyo yet. He didn't have the guts to try. He saw Kaede once since yesterday, but upon seeing her, he immediately walked the opposite direction. As far as he knew, she didn't even see him._

_Suddenly, a familiar scent caught up into the air. He looked further down the hall to see Sango and Miroku at the end of it, staring right at him. Sango's eyes were red and she was dressed in a black outfit Inuyasha had never seen before. Miroku also looked grave._

_Inuyasha ran up to his two friends and looked between the two, "Sango, Miroku, what's wrong?"_

"_Inuyasha, we haven't seen you in a while, have we?" Sango said icily._

_Inuyasha gave her a look, "What's _your_ problem?"_

_Sango clenched her teeth and tears sprang up from her eyes. Inuyasha stared at her wide-eyed, not believing what he was seeing. He was so amazed by Sango's crying that he didn't notice her curling her hand into a fist. She then punching him square in the gut before he could tell what was happening. Inuyasha reeled back. Sango was incredibly strong for a human, and even Inuyasha felt pain from a hit like that._

"_What the hell was that for?!" Inuyasha yelled once he recovered._

"_Go back and flirt with Kikyo more, why don't you, you JERK," Sango hissed before running off._

"_Sango!" Miroku called after her, but she was already gone. Inuyasha watched her go, hand gently holding his stomach, "What the hell was _that_ about?"_

_Miroku gave him a slightly disapproving look, "You sort of deserved that, Inuyasha."_

_Inuyasha got defensive, "How the hell did I deserve this?! And why the hell is Sango being all bitchy and running around dressed like that?"_

"_Sakaya-san died, Inuyasha."_

_Inuyasha's anger was replaced with shock, "What? You mean Sango's mother?"_

_Miroku nodded, "She died three days ago, from that sickness that she got from birthing Kohaku. You know how it was slowly killing her."_

"_Three days ago?!" Inuyasha cried, "How is that possible?! I never heard about it!!"_

"_That's because you haven't seen or talked to anybody except Kikyo-sama lately. Sango and her family have been receiving condolences from everyone in the castle for the past couple days, everyone except you," Miroku's disappointed eyes bore through him, "It's really been tough on Sango, but you, one of her best friends, wasn't even there for her…"_

_Inuyasha winced, realizing everything he said was right. But wait a second…_

"_I did speak to someone besides Kikyo; I spoke to your father. He didn't say anything about Sakaya's death!"_

"_He's been wearing around a black yukata everywhere, you must have seen him in that," Miroku snapped._

"_What are you talking about? He wasn't in a-" Inuyasha stopped short, realizing that he did notice Noroubido's new clothes. Inuyasha shut his mouth. Noroubido seemed like he was in such a good mood… how was he to know that tragedy had struck?_

_Miroku walked a little past him and said very firmly, "Go apologize to Sango once she's cooled down a bit. And go pay your respects to Tsuyoimi-san and Kohaku NOW."_

_Inuyasha nodded his head submissively. If it had been anything else, he would have yelled at Miroku for giving him an order, but not this time. Miroku was right. _

_Inuyasha continued a little more down the hall until he found Sango's father's quarters. He knocked on the door, and entered._

O.o

I just noticed now that images can be loaded onto the author's page… hmmm…. Perhaps I'll download something soon. I'll get back to you on that….

Now for some responses!

Priestessmykala: Thank you! I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the previous. To be perfectly honest I could have updated this perhaps yesterday or the day before, but I wanted to finish at least five pages of my next chapter. That will be updated soon too.

TrueBelle: Thank you very much. Your review is appreciated!

Psycho: Ah, didn't expect to see you here! I thought you didn't check your e-mail anymore. Ah, well. I'll have you know that I'm DONE with those manga, and I started this up again AFTER I finished them. Sticks out tongue Oh yes, could your reviews have any more asterisks? Yes, I made Kouga a lurk. I think he's the most lurk-like in this chapter!


	15. Kyozetsu

Another day, another chapter. I've been really happy with how many people have been reading my story. The "hits" meter that has right now makes it a little more bearable to continue a story without needing to solely rely on reviews… not that I want people to stop reviewing, mind you!

Please enjoy the chapter!

Chapitre 15

Kyozetsu (Rejection)

By Auroras-flame

Kagome awoke feeling bright and perky this morning. She practically danced out of bed and headed strait to the window overlooking the Yamaibara. She opened it and let the breeze come in from outside. Oh yes, today would be good.

She frolicked over to the other side of her room where she had pinned up some of the better clothes that Sango gave her upon entering the castle. Last night she had washed them in the bath along with herself and then hung them up to dry for today. It was a spring yukata and a complex but complimenting sash that Kagome had fallen in love with at first sight. They were admittedly still a little damp, but Kagome didn't even hesitate putting them on herself and hurrying downstairs, a smile planted on her face.

She entered the dining room where Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku were already seated. "Ohayou gozaimasu!" Kagome greeted them cheerfully.

When they turned around to see her, they all got unique and different expressions on their faces, but all pertaining to same emotion: surprise.

Miroku gave a surprised smile and exclaimed, 'Kagome-san! You look so cute!" Kagome nodded and said her thanks as she sat down to eat.

Sango examined her curiously, "Wasn't this the yukata that you washed last night? Isn't it still a little damp?"

Kagome shrugged and smiled, "But this is what I want to wear…"

Inuyasha was just strait out staring at her, speechless. Only upon hearing her comment did he finally get the words to ask, "Wear for what…?"

Kagome grinned, "You said I could go out, remember? This," she held up her yukata sleeves, "is what I want to wear."

Inuyasha's mouth hung open, "Uhhh… why?"

Kagome frowned, "Because it's pretty, of course."

"I think he means, why not something a little less… festive?" Sango chose her words, "Or why not wear what you hiked up here in?"

Kagome smiled warily and mumbled with hope, "Well… I was sort of hoping that we could, uh, go to town?"

Inuyasha's mouth closed quickly and his lips formed a thin line, "I didn't say _anything_ about you going down to see people."

Kagome whined, "Why not? It isn't like anybody knows who I am down there. I didn't even visit that town the day my dad brought me here. There's no possible way I could be noticed!"

"I sort of understand where he's coming from Kagome," Sango interjected.

Kagome looked at her friend, feeling slightly betrayed, "Sango?"

"We have never been to town," Miroku explained, "Not even once since it moved there. If we were to appear suddenly and continue appearing frequently, because I trust that you would want this to be more than just a one time thing, people will get suspicious to where we are from and maybe come up and start looking for us in this castle."

"And we can't have that," Inuyasha added sourly.

Kagome pouted, "Okay, I see. I get it." She paused for a moment or two and looked up at Inuyasha hopefully, "What if it is just a one time thing?"

Inuyasha watched her carefully, "Would it _really_ be?"

Kagome nodded her head, "Yes, you see, there is just one thing that I _really_ want from town, and although it would be only once, I would seriously kill for it."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "What would that be?"

"Meat."

The entire group began to crack up at Kagome's answer. Kagome didn't understand what was so funny, yeah, her answer might be considered a little humorous, but she hadn't seen any meat for weeks. She had been living off dried vegetables, rice, and noodles. It was killing her.

"You don't need to go into town for _that_ Kagome," Sango told her through her laughter.

"Yes, perhaps you didn't remember, but I'm pretty sure we told you that caravans come through here every month with supplies and food, including meat," Miroku said.

Kagome frowned, she remembered Sango saying something like that to her, but she had been there nearly a month and she had seen no meat at all, not even at the beginning of her stay. (A/N: Right? I never said that she had meat, right????)

Sango sort of read into Kagome's thoughts and said, "Well, you see, since we get to eat meat only so much every month and we don't want the meat to spoil, we usually eat it all within a couple of nights…" she laughed, "By the time you arrived here with your father, we had already ate all of it."

"Well, when is the caravan coming next," Kagome asked impatiently.

"In about a week, maybe sooner, maybe later," Miroku guesstimated.

Kagome sighed, "I see," she pulled at the yukata, "Perhaps I should take this off then?"

"No, no, no," Miroku insisted, "It looks so wonderful on you Kagome, you should keep it on for the rest of the day."

Kagome laughed, flattered, "You think so?"

Miroku nodded, and got elbowed in the side by Sango, who was glaring at him jealously. Miroku shook his head to tell her she got it wrong, and motioned over to Inuyasha who was staring at her stupidly again. The pair snickered.

O.o

_Sango sat in her room quietly. Kohaku was off with their father, and Sango had picked up liking to be alone ever since her mother had passed away. She wasn't really crying anymore, the majority of that had passed._

_Sango recollected the past few days. She really hated it when people would go up and hug her in an attempt at "comfort". Especially when they were people she hardly knew. Nobody seemed to understand that hugging her and telling her that they were sorry and that her mother had lived a good life didn't make her feel better, but worse. It only confirmed the horrible truth that she would never see her mother again. It was infuriating._

_Sango sighed and curled up in a ball. However, what she hated even more, more than all the people showering her with pity, was Inuyasha, who didn't even try to show remorse. She didn't want him pitying her either or anything, but all she wanted was the goddamn courtesy to mourn with her and help her get over it, not trailing around that priestess like some lost little love-struck puppy._

_She rolled over; the person who had been _really_ helping her in these times was Miroku. He never tried to hug her; he was just there with her, which was all that she wanted. He also let her be alone when she asked too, which also made her grateful. He would try to distract her from her mother sometimes, with a more cheery topic, but only if it was a good time and in good taste. Also, he hadn't made any attempts on her backside, to which she was ultimately thankful and impressed._

_Sango blushed a little bit, maybe Miroku had the capacity to be more than a pervert?_

_There was a knocking at her door. Sango smiled, just a little bit. It was probably Miroku, he always knew when she had had enough time alone. Somehow he could always gauge it and come in right when she was feeling lonely. "Come in," she said softly. _

_The shoji door opened, and Sango frowned. It wasn't Miroku, but Inuyasha. She scowled a bit, "What?"_

_Inuyasha didn't sneer back, like she was expecting him to, he hung his head and stated simply, "I'm sorry."_

_Sango's eyebrow raised a little bit. He was actually apologizing, how surprising. But did he know what he did wrong…?_

"_I'm sorry I wasn't there when your mother died," Inuyasha said, "I'm sorry that my mind has been so wrapped around Kikyo."_

_Sango nodded and poked at him a little more, just to let off some steam and check if his apology was genuine, "You haven't even seen us over the past week because you've been following her around like some love-sick twit."_

_Inuyasha winced a bit, "I know, I know."_

_Sango crossed her arms, not entirely satisfied, but satisfied enough to _say _that she'd forgive him, "Alright, apology accepted," she pointed a finger at him, "But just you don't go ignoring us again! For the gods' sakes, we've been friends for so long, and you didn't even _realize_ I was hurt."_

"_Okay, I get it, I'm scum, got it," Inuyasha cringed._

"_And as long as you continue to remember it, you are forgiven," Sango stated._

_Inuyasha sighed and turned around to leave, but then stopped and turned back to Sango just briefly, looking as if he was mulling something over. Sango received a sinking feeling, she sensed he was going to ask something stupid._

"_I'm going to ask something stupid," Inuyasha declared._

_Well, at least he realizes it._

"_Sango, I need advice or something…" Inuyasha said getting a little closer to her._

_Sango saw this coming from a mile away, "You are not going to ask me for love advice involving Kikyo. I know you aren't," she said dangerously._

_Inuyasha flinched, "Not… _love_… advice… exactly…"_

"_Just get out, Inuyasha."_

"_No, no, please Sango," he sat on her bed, much to her disgust, "I'm pretty damn desperate here."_

"_No kidding, you're risking your life with this move," Sango growled._

"_Well, Sango, you're a girl… sort of," Inuyasha reasoned._

"_Keep going, you're doing great," Sango grumbled under her breath._

"_And you're the only girl I can really talk to in this castle," he folded his arms, "You see, Kikyo doesn't want to see me anymore."_

_Sango looked up at him, "What?"_

_Inuyasha suddenly got a little more melancholy, "Well… a few days ago…" He relayed the information he had learned from Kaede and Noroubido, and told her of what Kikyo had said earlier. Sango listened intently as he did, actually sort of surprised._

"_So, let me get this strait," there was a hint of irritation in her voice, "So you and she are off being all flirty-flirty and then all of sudden, she tells you in the cruelest way possible that she can't see you anymore, because you're a demon and she's a priestess, and it just can't work out."_

_Inuyasha felt knives being poked at his heart with every single true phrase that she said, "Yes…"_

_Sango folded her arms and glared, "Just give up on her then."_

_Inuyasha clearly didn't want to hear that, "What?"_

"_If she's leaving tomorrow after the session with Naraku, just let her leave, and let it go," Sango said firmly, "If she isn't willing to love you for who you are, she doesn't deserve you. She's a jerk for playing with your heart."_

_Inuyasha didn't want to hear that either, he stood up, "Don't insult Kikyo."_

_Sango glowered at him, appalled, "Don't insult KIKYO??!!!" she hollered, "You said you wanted my advice, Inuyasha. And here it is: strait from the sort-of-girl's mouth! She doesn't deserve you, let her LEAVE. If you don't like my advice, then get the hell out of my room."_

_Inuyasha did just that Sango ran over to her pillow and screamed into it. He was just so impossible. A few seconds later, Miroku knocked and before she could say 'come in', peaked his head through._

"_I saw Inuyasha leaving a while ago, did he apologize?" he asked._

_Sango looked up at him and admitted, "He did."_

"_Did he mess it up somehow?"_

"_The apology itself was adequate..."_

_Miroku beamed, "Ah! Very good! I was the one who sent him in here when I figured you ought to be feeling better and told him not to say anything that contradicted you and just tell you what he was sorry for."_

"…_But right afterwards he screwed it over beyond redemption," Sango growled._

_Miroku stopped smiling, "In that case, I had nothing to do with it and it was entirely his idea…"_

_Sango laughed a little bit, "Thanks for trying, Miroku."_

_Miroku resigned himself a small smile, "You're welcome."_

O.o

Kagome rushed Sango along by pulling her hand, "Come on, don't be so slow!"

"Kagome, be careful," Sango advised, although still allowing herself to be pulled around.

Kagome had dragged Sango out for her little excursion. She could see over the edge of the mountain now and there was green! Flowers, grass, trees; she could see them! For the first time in nearly a month… She tightly clutched her pack with anticipation. She had brought along her shears, a pot, and water so she could bring back some to the castle. The Yamaibara were lovely, but one could grow bored of them without variety to look at every once in a while.

Kagome hopped down one last step and she landed on grass. She could have cried. She collapsed upon it and rolled around for a little bit, before firmly resting.

"Uhh, Kagome?" Sango leaned over her, "Are you okay?"

Kagome sat up and nodded, "Yes! There's no time to waste." She took out her clippers and looked around for some wildflowers or at least something containing a different color than green. She spotted her mark and ran over to it. She rolled up her sleeves and began to dig around the Kiku with her hands.

Sango followed her to the plant, "Kagome, what are you doing?" she panted.

"Giving the castle another plant _besides_ the Yamaibara," Kagome stated without even looking up from her plant.

Sango sighed and folded her arms, "You shouldn't bother, Kagome…"

Kagome finally turned away from her plant, "Why not?"

Sango made a face like she realized she wasn't supposed to say something.

Kagome's eyes narrowed, "If you tell me I'm not aloud to know, I'm getting the Kiku."

Sango mulled it over and finally said, "I think I can say so much without giving anything crucial away."

Kagome sighed and returned to her plant as Sango explained, "Surely, you've noticed, right? The mountain can't sustain any life besides the Yamaibara."

"I have," Kagome confirmed, unimpressed, "That's why I brought along a _pot_."

"It isn't the mountain's earth that's the problem Kagome, it's the _mountain_," Sango emphasized.

"What are you talking about, Sango? The mountain's _aura_ keeps things except the Yamaibara living?" Kagome asked rhetorically.

"Precisely, and anybody living in the palace. No plants, no animals, just the Yamaibara, and us," Sango confirmed.

Kagome looked up at her. She was serious. Kagome gave her a worried look, "Really? What is it, an evil mountain or something?"

Sango wrinkled her nose, "The mountain isn't evil… erm… don't ask me anymore questions, okay?"

Kagome pouted, "Aw, man. More stuff I can't be told. This is so lame…" Kagome gave Sango a determined stare, "I'm going to have my Kiku!" She finally pried it up from the ground, roots, soil and all, and placed it in the pot.

Sango sat down beside her, "Don't say I didn't warn you…"

Kagome huffed. Even if it was some evil, life-sucking mountain, her Kiku would last a little bit, right? All she needed was a little bit, after all, now she could come down here whenever she wanted and pick new ones when necessary.

"Hey, Kagome," Sango murmured, sounding slightly troubled.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Kagome asked, noticing the hint of worry in her friends voice.

"Tonight is a new moon…" Sango mentioned.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Kouga said he would be back before the new moon," Sango paused, "That makes me worry…"

"I'm sure Kouga is just a little late or something… he might come tonight," Kagome said innocently enough.

Sango shot her an incredulous look, "Kagome, don't tell me you _still_ believe that Kouga's intentions to come back are cordial."

Kagome sighed, "No, I don't think that. I'm not _that_ naïve."

Sango lowered her head, "Tonight is the worst possible night he could attack…"

Kagome's eyebrows furrowed together, "What do you mean?"

Sango clenched her teeth, "It's not my information to say…"

Kagome's eyes narrowed, "Is it that thing with Inuyasha again? The thing I _am_ allowed to learn about but everyone is still not telling me?"

"The same," Sango confirmed.

Kagome whined, "Come on Sango! Can't you at least give me a hint, a clue, anything?"

Sango sighed, "I'll give you one clue: chances are that you won't see Inuyasha tonight."

Kagome bit her lower lip. What did that mean?

O.o

Later that night at dinner, it was just as Sango said: no Inuyasha. Kagome glared at the empty seat and asked anyway, "Where's Inuyasha?"

"He will not being dining with us tonight," Miroku stated, taking bites of his rice.

"I told you he wouldn't come," Sango reminded her.

"Has he had any dinner at all?" Kagome inquired sneakily.

"No, he hasn't had any," Miroku said before he could catch himself.

"Then I guess I will bring him up some dinner then after I'm finished," Kagome grinned.

"Kagome!" Sango scolded.

"No! No, that won't be necessary Kagome. _I'll _bring him up dinner. We wouldn't want to impose on you by asking you to do such a menial task," Miroku insisted, clearing having ulterior motives.

"That's quite alright, Miroku. I have spent the last week or so bring Kouga and his men food three times a day; bringing Inuyasha food will be no task at all," Kagome replied with faux sweetness.

Sango took a more direct route, "You know that for whatever reason Inuyasha doesn't want you to come down, it's because he doesn't want you to see him."

"See him…?" Kagome muttered, "Has he undergone some physical change or something?"

Sango flinched and Miroku growled next to her, "Nice going."

Kagome smiled brightly, "So he has! What is it; did he grow a horn on his head or something?"

Sango and Miroku remained silent, in fear of giving more away. Kagome let out an excited girly squeal, "I'm done! I'll go bring him his food!"

"Kagome, don't!" Sango called to her.

"It will only make Inuyasha angry at you!" Miroku added in.

Kagome was already up and with a tray and a rice bowl. She gave a sneer, "I have been _extremely_ patient with him. I have never tried to pry too hard about what you guys say I can't know about. What if I'm allowed to know about this without messing up this grand plan you guys seem to have, by the gods, I _will_ find out about it," she declared.

Miroku and Sango were verbally beaten into submission and didn't give her a reply. She placed a bowl of hot noodles on Inuyasha's plate and went straight for the stairs. She quickly ascended the first two flights of stairs. She found it to be incredibly easy, having only one meal to carry this time. She used what memory she had of how she first found the final stairs leading to Inuyasha's room to find the stair case.

She stood at the foot of it, trying to stare up the steep steps. She took the first step onto the wood and felt something hit her foot. She moved the tray further out in front of her and looked down.

There were slippers, artfully mastered with delicate and intricate designs. Right next t them were her fuzzy Russian boots, looking practically clunky and unrefined compared to the slippers. She had entirely forgotten about her shoes. She didn't really need them in the palace, and Sango gave Kagome a collection of geta to use whenever she went out, so she never realized that they were missing.

She stared at her shoes a little longer. They were collecting dust. They hadn't been touched at all since she left them there. Well, if Inuyasha didn't care if they stayed there, perhaps she should just keep them there for the time being…

She ascended the stairs.

"Inuyasha, I brought you food!" she called into the room as she slowly ascended. She peeked her head through and saw… well, not a lot. His room wasn't lighted at all, with the exception of one grime covered window from which only star light lit up the area.

"I thought I told you that you weren't allowed up here!" she heard Inuyasha growl from… somewhere?

She looked around the room, trying to spot him. All she could really see were the hinted silhouettes of glass and other old delicate junk. She finnaly saw something twitch out of the corner of her eye, and stared at what she figured was the silhouette of Inuyasha.

"I only came up to give you food," Kagome said with false sincerity.

"I'm not hungry. Leave," he growled.

Kagome rolled her eyes and smirked, "Oh, come on, just eat, Inuyasha. I'm sure we'd all be saddened if you became anorexic."

Inuyasha scoffed, "Oh, ha ha, very funny."

Kagome placed the food down and folded her arms, "Okay, Inuyasha, you know what I'm _really_ in here for. Just come out in the light where I can see you, and I'll be on my way."

Inuyasha snarled, "No."

"I've already tricked Miroku and Sango out of saying that you undergo some physical transformation, and I also know that knowing about it won't interfere with whatever you're keeping me here for so…" Kagome climbed up all the way, "come out now or I'll force you out."

"You wouldn't dare…" his voice became dark.

Kagome shrugged, "Try me." She walked straight to Inuyasha. He dodged her hands and he slithered over to another part of the room.

"Leave me alone, wench!" he shouted.

Kagome folded her arms and declared angrily, "Not until I see what the heck is different about you!"

Inuyasha was silent for a few seconds, but Kagome could feel the waves of anger rolling off him in waves, finally he snarled, "Fine then."

Kagome's eyes widened a bit, surprised by his submission. Inuyasha stepped out in front of the dim star-lit window and Kagome gasped.

"Happy, now?" he growled.

Kagome put a hand over her mouth to cover how slack it was. Inuyasha was… human!

"How on Earth…?" Kagome muttered.

"Oi, you said you would leave when you saw," Inuyasha reminded her, "So, go."

"But…" Kagome had so many questions.

"GO!!" he hollered.

Kagome flinched. She bit her lower lip and turned around. He was right, she _had_ agreed to go after she saw. If she knew it would have been something like this, she would have demanded a Q & A as well, but he was right. She took one last look back at him, just trying to confirm.

She saw him shake his head and sigh, "Just go…"

She went.

O.o

_Inuyasha was desperate. The fact that he realized but didn't even care made the situation all the more sad. He was too afraid to talk to Kikyo while he was in his normal form, but tonight was different. Tonight he was a human. _

_She had never seen him this way before, he knew it would be foolish to believe that she would stay with him if she just showed her that he was human once every four weeks. But he wanted to see if she would at least consider him, or at least acknowledge that he had feelings for her. _

_He found her room and knocked on the shoji door. Kikyo came up to answer it and she opened it just a bit. She gave him a small smile, "Yes?" _

_She didn't recognize him, did she? _

"_It's me, Kikyo," he told her, blushing a little bit. Upon hearing his voice, her eyes became alert and wary. She stared into his face and asked, "Inuyasha?"_

_He nodded, wondering if he could still do this. "I want to talk," he said._

"_Ane-san, who is it?" Kaede asked from further back into the room. Kikyo sighed and clenched the side of the door. Inuyasha began to worry. She wasn't going to refuse to even talk to him, was she?_

"_I will be going out for a little while, Kaede. I will return shortly," Kikyo told her younger sister._

"_Alright," Kaede replied, her voice showing no traces of worry._

_Kikyo stepped out in the hall, and shut the shoji behind her. She asked quietly, "What is it Inuyasha?"_

_Inuyasha saw that she wanted to get this over with quickly. Knowing that hurt him, but there was one ting he wanted to settle immediately, "Kikyo, is it true that you don't really need to leave by tomorrow?"_

_Kikyo's eyes widened. Inuyasha felt a blow being inflicted upon him. It was true._

_Kikyo turned away from him, as Inuyasha began to babble, "So… it is true! You… lied to me. Why, Kikyo? Why do you hate me so much? Why is it so necessary to keep your distance away from me? Don't you know that I love you?!"_

"_That's enough Inuyasha!" Kikyo halted him. Inuyasha winced. _

"_My mind is made up," she said, a little more calmly, but still with deadly seriousness, "Kaede and I will leave tomorrow." Her head never faced him, "Stop obsessing, Inuyasha. It's sad."_

_Inuyasha flinched at the insult. He lowered his head as the last knife pierced his heart. Kikyo did not continue her tirade. Inuyasha mumbled, "Fine. Fine then, Kikyo." He turned around and left her. He was done trying. It was over. If she didn't want to be with him, it was fine. Forget her. Forget everyone._

_He hated her. He hated himself._

O.o

Kouga stared up at the new moon to the west of Yamaibara Mountain. When it begins to set, they would strike.

O.o

Wow, I got more reviews than usual::Gets sparkly eyed:: Yay! Granted, two of them were from pycho, but oh well, I can accept that… and some of them didn't really make sense, but I can accept that too, and welcome it gratefully!

Some replies!

Psycho: Oh, so that _wasn't_ you. Sorry, people don't usually curse so much when they write reviews for me, so I didn't know. However, despite the curses, a very nice review… detailed too. Thank you!

TrueBelle: Thank you for the review. Sorry some of this story is so angsty…

Kandy123654: Thanks! I will try to continue keeping you happy.

MULAN-IFUWEREGAY: Thank you! I couldn't help but notice that you despised Kikyo with a passion (I glanced at your user page). I hope you kept reading this story long enough to know I made her slightly more bitchy than she started out to be… Don't hate me…

Priestessmykala: Thank you. I try to make each character have a reason behind their actions and I learned that the second story plot about Inuyasha's past seems to help a lot. Thanks you for your review!


	16. Shuugeki

Warning to all you readers out there: the following chapter contains a good portion of action and angst. Neither of which I am very good at writing for. I hope you enjoy it anyway though, a lot of stuff happens…

Oh yes, and if anyone was curious, a Kiku is a chrysanthemum.

Chapitre 16

Shuugeki (Raid)

By Auroras-flame

_Inuyasha stormed away from Kikyo's room, upset and heartbroken. He was so stupid! Believing that she would consider him at all, just because he looked human! _

_Inuyasha stopped himself. He wasn't going to think about her anymore. He just wouldn't care anymore. Sango was right. She was incredibly right. He should just let her leave after Naraku had done his work. He clenched his fists tightly and kicked a near by wall. _

"_Inuyasha…?" _

_He turned around to see his mother standing down the hallway. His body relaxed and he walked to her, "Hey Mom." He looked around, 'Where are your attendants?"_

"_Asleep. I wandered out here on my own. I felt something was wrong. Call it mother's intuition," she gently embraced her son, "What's wrong, Inuyasha?"_

_Inuyasha sighed, he didn't want his mother caught up in this, "There's nothing wrong."_

"_Is kicking walls a hobby of yours now, then?" she laughed quietly. Inuyasha gave her a forced, half-hearted smile._

"_Is it Kikyo?" his mother inquired. Inuyasha stared at her, surprised she knew about him and Kikyo. She explained, "I've seen the two of you together. You both looked happy until recently. Has something happened?"_

_Inuyasha could only give a pained chuckle, "She turned me down, that's all."_

_Izayoi gave her son a pitying look, "I'm sorry, Inuyasha."_

"_You don't have to apologize," Inuyasha insisted, trying desperately to not show how miserable he was feeling._

_His mother sighed, "I'm still sorry. It must be so hard for you, being a part of two different worlds and being denied by both. I'm so sorry."_

_Inuyasha winced, "Don't say sorry, Mom, you're making me feel bad…"_

_His mother lowered her head, and looked like she wanted to apologize again, but restrained herself. Inuyasha shook his head, "It's alright, Naraku comes tomorrow morning, and once that is done, she'll leave, and I'll forget her."_

_Izayoi shook her head, "It isn't that easy, Inuyasha. Once you love someone, that love will never die, all you can do is love another even more," she kissed his cheek, "You'll find someone you can love more some day, Inuyasha, and when you do, you won't forget Kikyo, but you'll remember her as the one that guided you to the person who you love and who loves you too."_

_Inuyasha sighed, he didn't really believe her, but didn't say anything to contradict her. She had always been the closest one to him ever since he was born and the least he could do was allow her to say what she thought. Who knows, maybe she was right._

O.o

Kagome descended back down into the dining room immediately after seeing Inuyasha. Sango and Miroku were waiting for her. Miroku looked a little worried, Sango looked slightly put off.

"You saw?" Miroku guessed after seeing Kagome's shocked face.

"Yes, he showed me," Kagome nodded, "He was quite angry about it, but I don't really understand why…"

"You don't understand why?" Sango asked, dubious, "You know how Inuyasha is. He likes to be the strongest kid in the village. Think how humbling it is for someone, especially you, Kagome, to see him in the state that he considers weak."

Kagome winced. She didn't think about that.

"Inuyasha almost never shows up when he's in his mortal state," Miroku explained, "He doesn't even like to show it to Sango and me."

Kagome lowered her head, feeling a little bit like a jerk, "So, it was really wrong of me to go up there?"

Sango and Miroku exchanged glances. "Well, we can't exactly tell you that it was wrong, especially since we keep so much from you…" Sango admitted.

"But we aren't going to pat you on the back for it. Inuyasha has been through a lot more than you know, and that form has a pretty excruciating story tied behind it," Miroku added.

Kagome looked between the two, curious, "A story…?"

Sango sighed, "Kagome, don't ask anymore questions…"

Kagome blinked and then hung her head in shame, realizing how inappropriate that was, "Sorry…"

"It's alright," Miroku assured her. He stood up, "I suggest that we all go and get a good night's sleep now, and try to forget tonight," he glanced towards Kagome, "And I suggest that you not even mention anything to Inuyasha. No questions, no apologies, nothing. Inuyasha's the type to forget small spats like this quickly, and if you don't say anything that will reopen scars, I'm sure he'll forgive and forget like he always does."

Kagome nodded, "I understand."

"Good," Miroku said leaving for the stairs, "Oyasuminasai."

O.o

_Today was it. The last day he would ever see Kikyo. Naraku had arrived early this morning, dressed in a baboon pelt, and containing one of the strangest auras anybody had ever come across in the castle. _

_Everyone was gathered in the courtyard of Izayoi's garden. There was no particular need for the crowd, and in truth it made Inuyasha uncomfortable, but a wide, open space was needed, and they couldn't just ban the castle's inhabitants and staff from watching this spectacle._

_In the crowd was his father, mother, and brother. His father and mother sat on pillows and mats that had been brought from inside, and they were shaded by parasols from the beating sun. Sesshomaru also stood under one of the parasols, but seemed more content with standing, unlike his father. Inuyasha also saw Miroku and Sango and their families in the mass. Despite the tat that they had, Sango seemed to have forgiven him mostly. Whenever he would catch her eye, she would turn away stuffily. Inuyasha understood why though, he did sort of deserve it._

_Inuyasha sighed and grabbed the hilt of Tessaiga. He was feeling anxious. Whether it was anxiousness over the fact that Kikyo would leave after this or anxiousness to get it over with so Kikyo would leave, he could not decide. He kept telling himself it was the latter. _

_Kikyo walked out of the palace doors in her miko's outfit and went straight past him to get to his father and Naraku. Flat ignored._

_Inuyasha scoffed, who cared? The bitch could die, for all he did. _

"_Are you ready, Inuyasha?" his father called from his pillow._

_Inuyasha faced him and nodded._

_His father glanced over at Kikyo, "Would sit near Inuyasha?"_

_Kikyo lowered her head, "Certainly, sire." She walked straight to Inuyasha's side and sat down in a formal manner without even giving him a glance. _

_His father turned to Naraku, "If you may…?"_

_Naraku bowed his head, "As you wish sire…" He spent no time suddenly dispersing into several low-level and unattractive looking demons._

"_Let's get this over with," Inuyasha mumbled as he drew out his blade. He beckoned it to change shape. Nothing happened. He stared at the blade. Why wasn't it working???_

"_Inuyasha, what's wrong?" Kikyo asked, her voice not in a panic, but serious._

"_It still isn't revealing its true form!" he cursed._

_Kikyo lowered her head in thought as the plethora of demons headed their way. She snapped her head up and asked, not even sounding offended, "Do you _not _want to save me?"_

_The demons were coming and Kikyo's statement rang true like a bell. "Shit," he cursed. Time to think fast. If he could just remember how much he loved her and why he wanted to protect her in the first place, he might be able to call Tessaiga's powers… NO! He wouldn't allow it! She was dead to him! Inuyasha tried for a loophole and thought with all his might: I'll protect Kikyo's life so she can LEAVE._

_Nothing happened._

_A lower demon got very close to Kikyo. It hit her and she was pushed down onto her knees. "Kikyo!" Inuyasha yelled, despite himself. The sword transformed into its true shape, but at a terrible cost. _

_All of a sudden, Inuyasha's head felt heavy, his vision was blurring and he felt himself losing control over his body. His muscles tightened up, they tightened up so much that they actually hurt. He felt his pupils shrink as if they were receiving more light than they were used to. He screamed._

"_What's going on?! That sword was meant to keep his blood in check, not bring it out!!!" he heard his father exclaim from somewhere._

"_My Inuyasha!" he heard his mother scream._

_The rest was blurred frenzy._

O.o

_Sango, Miroku, and Kohaku stood in the crowd watching Inuyasha's transformation occur. Sango got in a defensive position and mentioned, "This doesn't look good…"_

"_What's happening to him?" Kohaku asked, worried._

"_I think he's turning into a demon…" Miroku guessed, "But why on Earth would that happen?"_

"_Recall your demons, Naraku!" Inutaisho demanded from the other side of the crowd._

"_I cannot, sire," Naraku said indifferently, "Once they are dispelled from my body, they are out of my control." Naraku shrugged, "But it seems your son is taking care of them easily enough…"_

_Inuyasha's eyes were red and he had gained two purple stripes on either cheek. His nails were longer as were his fangs, and his face looked more feral than that of a mad dog. With using only his claws, he tore up every demon in sight, but then something horrifying and unexpected happened, he began going for the demon guards at the palace, and he succeeded to ripping them to shred very easily. Screams and shouts pierced the air._

"_What's wrong with him? He's killing the guards!" Kohaku exclaimed, horrified._

"_Sango, Kohaku, leave," Tsuyoimi-san forced his way in front of his children with a sickle in hand and a sword at his waste._

"_You too, Miroku, go and find your mother," Noroubido stepped up next to Tsuyoimi. _

_Sango protested, "But father, we can help-!"_

"_Leave!' he shouted._

_Inuyasha struck down a human maid._

"_Father, we must stop this," Sesshomaru said in the distance._

"_My Lord!" Izayoi cried._

"_We're not going to kill him," Inutaisho told Sesshomaru and assured Izayoi._

_Inuyasha was killing at random now, there was no sense to where he attacked, he just did. Sango took a hold of Kohaku's wrist, "We must go."_

_Kohaku nodded and followed her with Miroku close behind. Sango halted briefly however, when all of a sudden, the screaming had stopped and there was a deadly silence. She turned around and saw Kikyo with a bow and quiver in her hands, and aiming a glowing blue arrow straight at Inuyasha. _

_Inuyasha, although still in his demon state was still able to use his instincts. The power being aimed at him had him frozen solid and backing up slowly away from Kikyo._

"_What are you doing, Kikyo?!" Inutaisho snarled, "That will kill him!!"_

"_He's already killed, and I cannot abide by that any longer!!" she shouted back, eyes still lethally focused on Inuyasha, "The pure wish got tainted, and so did the sword. Having him save me… it was the worst possible thing we could do!!" she screamed and pulled back the arrow even farther, "You must die, Inuyasha. I'm sorry."_

"_NO!!"_

_Kikyo released the arrow and the feral Inuyasha cringed, accepting death… but death didn't come. Sango's and Miroku's mouths hung open as they saw the Lady Izayoi's body tossed across the ground with an arrow through her chest. She had thrown her body out just at the right second, to save her son's life._

_Inutaisho roared and drew out his sword and leaped to Kikyo, enraged, "You killed her!!!"_

_The three were unable to turn away from watching Inutaisho run towards Kikyo in a rage and attempt to slash her. She dodged, just barely, and took another arrow out of the quiver and aimed and shot at Inutaisho who at the time stabbed her through the heart with his sword. With this double stalemate, they both collapsed in death._

_While this was happening, Demonic Inuyasha, unfazed and unknowing of who was foe and friend, and incapable of realizing what his mother had just done, merely turned to a new prey… that prey happened to be Tsuyoimi and Noroubido. _

_Noroubido held out a sutra in attempt to catch Inuyasha in a hold, but Inuyasha was too quick, and gave Noroubido a fatal swipe across the chest. Tsuyoimi threw the sickle at Inuyasha which caught him in the back. Inuyasha screamed as Tsuyoimi attempted to retract the sickle and land another blow. He was too slow for Inuyasha's new increased speed though, and once Inuyasha recovered from the first hit, he slashed Tsuyoimi across the throat, killing him instantly._

"_Father!" Sango screamed, and tried to run to her father in aid. Miroku grabbed her wrist as Inuyasha turned his crazed gaze toward the three teenagers._

"_We are unarmed! We must run!" Miroku shouted as Sango resisted._

"_My father!" Sango cried. Kohaku joined in with pulling Sango, "Miroku's right! We have to run! He's coming!"_

_Inuyasha charged forward with deadly speed. Sango finally let out a sob and turned away and fled. She wasn't fast enough though. Inuyasha was right behind her and had already reared back his arm to strike._

"_Ane-san!" Kohaku got behind her and took the blow that was meant for her._

_Sango screamed, "Kohaku!!!"_

_She ripped herself out of Miroku's grip and ran over to Kohaku and held him protectively. Inuyasha gave a demonic smirk and raised his arm to deliver a fatal blow. Sango winced and a thunking sound resonated through the air, along with a scream from Inuyasha. _

_Sango looked up to see Inuyasha's hand impaled by a lesser sword. She looked around and saw Sesshomaru standing behind Inuyasha, with an impatient glare._

"_That's enough, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru held his hand up menacingly as it began to glow a ghostly yellow, "Fight me now."_

_Inuyasha's attentions were fully turned away from Sango and Kohaku. Inuyasha lunged forward and he and Sesshomaru began to fight._

_Miroku rushed over to her, "Sango! Are you alright?!"_

_Sango, a little shaken managed to nod her head, "Yes."_

_Miroku put his fingers up to Kohaku's neck and stated, "He's alive. Bring him with us, quickly."_

_Sango spent no time standing up with Kohaku clutched in her arms. Miroku ran ahead, but at a slower rate so Sango could still catch up to him while still carrying Kohaku. Miroku led her into the castle and turned around to ask, "We should climb high. If Inuyasha stays like this for long he'll go after the people down here first. Can you make it up?"_

_Sango, not even caring if what Miroku said sounded horrible, nodded her head, "I can." She glanced at Kohaku, "I think he can make it too."_

"_Good, to the third floor. There, we'll have enough time to make a barrier."_

_They rushed up the floors, Kohaku leaking blood where ever he went. They finally made it up and went in the nearest room possible. They shut the shoji doors behind them and Miroku instructed, "Lay him down and nurse him with what's up here. I have some scrolls on me; I'll lock this place up from any demons._

_Sango did as he said, and laid her brother down on the futon. She laid him belly-down since the scratch was inflicted upon his back. She removed the bloody shirt and ripped it apart to make bandaging. This was a perfectly ordinary room, so there weren't any healing supplies in there at all. She checked for Kohaku's pulse again, it was still there, but it was weak. Tears came to her eyes. Her father was dead, her brother might die, and the entire palace was in danger. She bandaged him up, being sure to wrap it around lightly and tenderly. Once she was done she held his hand and waited for Miroku to finish up protecting the room._

_Miroku placed the scrolls all over the doorway and went over to the windows to put them there too. He stopped himself and said, "Sango! Come over here!"_

_Sango looked up in surprise. He sounded urgent, but she couldn't tell if it was a good urgency or a bad one. She ran over to the window and looked down. Inuyasha stood there, perfectly still. Sesshomaru was nowhere to be found, but Sango assumed the worse when she spotted his arm next to Inuyasha. There were a couple more corpses about, mostly from maids and other human workmen. The interesting thing however was that Inuyasha looked normal now. He was just standing still, clearly horrified. Tessaiga was on the ground, and someone was crawling up to him in a miko's uniform. _

_Sango squinted her eyes, was it Kikyo? No… it was Kaede!_

O.o (Please pardon the immediate sudden change of pace…)

Kagome lied awake in her bed. Her talk with Sango and Miroku and her confrontation with Inuyasha had left her feeling incredibly guilty. She turned over in her bed. She really messed it up this time. She was on such good terms with everybody, but she let curiosity get the best of her and she forced herself onto them.

And Inuyasha… she really was making progress with him. They weren't exactly friends, but they were definitely closer than they used to be. But now she had taken a step backward in their relationship. She sat up and looked out the window. She was only guessing, but he turned human when there was a new moon, right? She scanned the sky for the unlit moon.

Not seeing it from behind the window, she undid the latch and stuck her head outside. She looked around until she saw it hovering over the horizon line. She tilted her head out of curiosity. She wondered if Inuyasha's transformation was only while the new moon was out, or if it lasted for the whole night. It could only be a little past midnight, so would he be a human for twenty more minutes or another six hours?

Kagome shook her head. It was these sorts of questions that got her into this mess. She moaned and looked down from the moon and into the Yamaibara; this curiosity would end up killing her…

Movement caught her eye in a nearby tree. Her head shot up, frightened. She looked around the dead foliage and trees. She neither saw nor heard anything. Normally, she would dismiss it being a bird or some animal, but not on this mountain. Sango had just told her today: nothing could thrive, just the Yamaibara and them.

Kagome stared out the window longer, trying to catch any sign of movement still. What she saw couldn't be human… it hopped between trees, no human could do that. Obviously it couldn't be Inuyasha either… Finally, her suspicions were answered when someone came climbing up the stairs to the palace. She squinted, trying to make out who it was. A familiar ponytail and headband clued her off immediately.

He went up the final stair and seemed to sense something. He turned right to her and smiled, "Hello, Kagome!"

Kagome sighed with relief at his friendly greeting and smiled back, "Kouga! What's the idea of coming here so late…?"

"A raid!" Kouga replied back cheerfully.

Kagome lost her smile, "…What…?"

Suddenly, out of the trees, from over the ledges, and from behind the walls, wolf men came bleeding out into the front garden and filing behind Kouga. Kouga pointed to the castle door, "Attack and kill all but the girl with the jewel!"

Kagome reared back. This wasn't good!

She tripped over herself getting out of her bed and exited her room screaming, "Inuyasha! Sango! Miroku! Their attacking! Everyone, anyone! Wake up!!!!!" She ran to the stairwell and hit Sango and Miroku, both prepared for war.

"Sango! Miroku!" she breathed, "They're here-!"

"We know," Sango cut her off.

"I sensed their demonic presence just a little bit ago. Right now, I need you to go upstairs and inform Inuyasha! He would have sensed it long before I did, for sure, if he wasn't human. But he could easily be entirely clueless right now. Go," Miroku ordered.

Kagome knew this wasn't a good time to question orders, so she nodded her head and ascended onto the third floor of the castle as Sango and Miroku descended to the entry area. She ran as fast as she could through the wooden halls until she found the staircase leading to Inuyasha's room. She climbed in a hurry shouting, "Inuyasha! Inuyasha!"

"What? What the hell are you doing back in my room?!" he snarled. Kagome ignored him for the better good, "Kouga and his men are here. They are attacking the castle. Miroku and Sango are downstairs fighting them off, but we're in danger."

Inuyasha, realizing the seriousness of the situation came right over to her and demanded, "Okay, we need to get out of this room. If we get cornered in here there's no way we can escape. You need to hide."

"It won't help," Kagome said.

Inuyasha gave her a look, "What?"

"It won't help," Kagome shook her head, "They can sense the jewel. If I hide they will know exactly where to find me."

"Then take off the stupid thing," Inuyasha hissed.

"No! I promised…" she stopped herself, "Oh dear gods, where is Shippo?!"

Inuyasha sneered, "He's been gone for days Kagome, don't tell me you didn't notice…"

Kagome was silent. She didn't notice…

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Now's not the time for that, we need to go." He went around her and went down the stairs. She followed him and tried to keep up with him the best she could.

He led her to a random room and opened the door for her, "Hide in here. They'll find you soon enough, but if Sango and Miroku do a good job, only a few will leak through them." Inuyasha took out Tessaiga in its rusting, dinky form, "I'll take those."

Kagome got into the room, "But Inuyasha- you're human! Can you take them?"

Inuyasha threw her a contemptuous glare, "Shut up, wench! I'm stronger than the average human!" he shut the door separating them, "And at the very least just as strong as Miroku or Sango and a hell of a lot stronger than _you_ so you can stay in there and get your ass saved, got it?"

Kagome winced. That was a little rude… but the situation didn't exactly call for manners, so she would forgive him this time. Kagome paced back and forth in the room. What was she doing here? The wolves could easily find her, why was she any safer in this room than outside in the hall.

She looked around and actually examined the room and found out why quickly. There were scrolls and enchantments surrounding the entire room. Kagome got close to one in particular and inspected it. She had seen these before! They were exorcizing and demon banishment scrolls! She checked around the room to see that the scrolls were practically wallpaper for the room. There was no way a demon could enter in here, they would perish immediately…

What was a room like this doing here…? Kagome continued to gape at the large numbers of scrolls, judging by that and the intensity, maybe not even Inuyasha, being a half demon, could enter… But he was human…

Kagome rushed over to the shoji door and yelled through it, "Inuyasha! You still there!"

"Gah! Don't yell! Yes, I'm here, what?" Inuyasha cursed.

"Come inside too. As long as you're human, it can protect you…"

"Are you _trying_ to insult me?!" Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome flinched.

"Dear gods woman, just shut up and let me save you, okay?!" he barked.

Kagome flushed. Why was he being so protective of her?

"They're here," Inuyasha informed her.

Kagome gasped and leaned up against the shoji door. She wanted to know what was going on, but knew better than to open the door.

"Another human!"

"Forget about him, you can feel it can't you? He's guarding the Shikon Jewel in one of these rooms…"

"The girl too, probably…"

"Oi!" she heard Inuyasha shout, "If you want into any of these rooms, you got to go through me first."

Kagome winced. He sounded tough, but he was human now, and he didn't even have the upgraded version of his sword anymore… Clearly the wolves weren't to impressed either…

"What are you going to do with that, human? Give us a paper cut?"

"Just move aside or you'll get hurt!"

"Not that we won't hurt you if you do stand aside!"

Kagome clenched the shoji wood out of fret, "Inuyasha…"

"Ah! That must be where the girl is hiding!" one exclaimed.

Inuyasha cursed and yelled into the door, "Why can't you JUST SHUT UP?!"

Kagome cringed. Her bad…

"Let's take care of the human and then retrieve the jewel."

"Kouga-sama will be so pleased with us."

"Wait for us, sister!"

Kagome's head reared back. Were they talking about her?

"Bring it on, ugly!" Kagome heard Inuyasha jump over to where she supposed the wolves were. Kagome leaned in. She heard a lot of grunts and a couple of whines coming from the wolves, but so far, not that much from Inuyasha.

Kagome smiled hopefully. Maybe Inuyasha could take care of it…

Suddenly Inuyasha let out a pained yell.

"Hello, human."

Kagome gasped. It was Kouga!

She heard Inuyasha grunt out, "Wolf…" He sounded like he was in a lot of pain. Kagome shook her hands and head frantically. She wanted to _see,_ she wanted to know what was going on.

After a pause, Kouga exclaimed, "Mutt-face! It _is_ you! What's wrong? You don't look yourself." Kouga let out a dark laugh, "I sense the jewel, where's Kagome?"

A wolf rushed towards the room she was in, "She's in here Kouga-sama!" She scurried away from the door as she saw the silhouette of the wolf's hand come in contact with the door. However, when he touched it, a sudden burst of light engulfed the hand and the wolf screamed. Kagome sighed, the door was purified; no demon was getting in here.

She heard Kouga growl over his wolf's screams, "What the hell was that!?!"

Inuyasha let out a cocky laugh, "Sorry, wolf-boy, but there's no way you or your little wolf cronies are getting in there."

Kouga snarled and Inuyasha let out another yell of pain. Kagome couldn't stand it anymore. She opened the door and screamed, "Kouga, stop it!"

Both Kouga and Inuyasha stared at her. Inuyasha was on the ground with Kouga's foot at his neck, slightly choking him even as Kagome stood there.

Inuyasha yelled, "Get back inside, you idiot!!!"

Kouga gave him a good stomp and then welcomed her with the same smile he greeted her at the doors of the palace with, "Kagome! How good of you to join us. Would you be kind enough to come with me?"

Kagome stared at the scene, horror-struck. She stuttered, "Kouga-! Why? I thought I told you, I can't give this to you," she held the jewel up from her neck, "I _won't_ give this to you!"

Kouga shrugged and half-whined, "But I want it Kagome… and I told you: I always get what I want."

Wolves got on either side of her and tried to capture her by restraining her arms. Kagome gasped and screamed, "LET ME GO!!!!" As she screamed, the jewel on her neck glowed and a blue light engulfed her body and repelled both of the wolves and set them ablaze.

Kagome fell to the floor and panted as she stared at what she had just done.

Kouga crouched down and got into a defensive pose, his foot still on Inuyasha's neck.

Inuyasha yelled again, "Now! Get in while you can!!!"

Kouga snapped at him and placed even more pressure on his neck, "Shut up, you!!" Inuyasha gasped for air.

"Stop!" Kagome pleaded. Kouga paused. He looked up and stared at Kagome with calculating eyes, "What will you do for me, if I do?"

Kagome's eyes got wide. She hung her head and grasped onto the Shikon no Tama. This was someone's life in her hands now. She clenched her eyes shut. She didn't want to break her promise, but… she couldn't be responsible for Inuyasha's death.

Kagome grasped the Shikon jewel even tighter and ripped it off her neck. Beads for the necklace flew everywhere like leaves caught in the wind. She held out the jewel to Kouga and stated clearly, "I offer this."

"Kagome, what the hell are you doing?!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Shut up and let me save your life!" Kagome shouted at him, before Kouga got the idea to stomp on him again.

Kouga looked unimpressed by the jewel, "Sorry, Kagome, that isn't going to be enough for his life, this time…"

Kagome became puzzled. What else could he possibly want besides the jewel?

"… along with the jewel," Kouga continued, "I want you."

Kagome stared at him, wide-eyed. Inuyasha did the same. After a pause that felt like it lasted an eternity, Kagome shook her head and gave a nervous laugh, "Very funny Kouga. Here's the jewel. Take it." She threw it towards him. It landed right by Inuyasha, who was still staring at Kouga unbelievingly.

Kouga huffed, "I'm not joking. Come with me…" her bent down and picked up the jewel and tossed it back to her, "…_with_ the jewel, or else Inuyasha dies."

O.o

::Pants in and out:: Too…. Much…. ACTION…. ::Faints::Sits up and cries:: I don't like this chapter!!!! It's really long too…. ::Sighs:: Well, I there are _way_ to many cliffhangers here… Perhaps I'll hold off on posting up this chapter until I finish the next chapter.

::looks over chapter:: Oh my God… I really am more for character development than I am for action… ::Sighs:: Well, this and the next chapter are the one's that I've really been writing for. A _lot_ of stuff will be happening, and (hopefully) by next chapter the curse should be vaguely revealed::Pulls out party-poppers:: Yay!

Now, for some replies to the many wonderful reviews I've received!

SoraKoi: I'm sorry, I noticed that you replied to my fourteenth chapter, but I had just posted my fifteenth when you did so I didn't get to write you a reply: So here it is! Thank you very much for reviewing. I saw on your user page that you aren't one to usually review, so your review means a lot to me. Thank you very much! I hope to hear from you in the future. (Although maybe not from this chapter, because I sort of feel that this one sucked…)

TrueBelle: Umm… er… ::glances up at previous chapter:: I feel I have officially crossed the line from "a little angsty" and tread onto the lands of "really angsty"… Oh well… I am happy to hear from you again, and I'm happy that you still enjoy my fic.

Pinecone (That's what I think pycho sounds like…): I'm very tempted to just post your review up right here, but I won't because this chapter is long enough… it actually made me laugh out loud. I actually laughed so loud that my Mom came in here and asked me what I was laughing about so much… ::Looks over review again:: "a crossword/madlibs/sudoku book, you guys bore the crap outa me." "kaede's shoes are STILL there?! jezus woman, who leaves a perfecly good pair of shoes somewhere just to spite someone? Couldn't she have just left grafitti on the floor like normal people or something? like, "Kikyou hates you for life. go suck an elf"...the ---." That was pretty good Megan, you're getting funnier.

MULAN-IFUWEREGAY: Thank you! I am happy to hear from you again. The next chapter should be up shortly, (if not immediately).

Denarius: Thank you so much for your review. It really meant a lot to me. I couldn't believe how much you delved into the details I added and how much you loved my fanfiction. I was so happy, I kid you not, I went over to my roommate and hugged them I was so happy. As for my Japanese, yes, it is my second language, but I do not claim to be fluent. I have taken classes and will be taking 103 of Japanese in the fall. Most of the complicated words that I get are not from my own memory, I'm afraid; they come from my little English to Japanese and Japanese to English dictionary. I wish I knew Japanese that well… Please don't look at my other works though! They are very, very bad! I haven't touched them in years and as you might be able to tell from my earlier chapters; my writing wasn't too good back then! I would just read this one for the time being. Yet again, thank you for your detailed and wonderful review.

PriestessMykala: Thank you so much for reviewing so faithfully. I find myself almost waiting for your review to pop up on my "stats" screen. The dramatic "dums" actually made me laugh aloud when I read them. Thank you very much!


	17. Saratta

Alright then! I'm writing this immediately after I finished the previous chapter (which I have not posted yet because I'm not sure how long this one will take and I still sort of want to proofread it and check if there is any way I can make it better. Oh well, please enjoy.

Chapitre 17

Saratta (Abducted)

By Auroras-flame

Sango swung her boomerang bone in a wild fashion to keep the demons away from her for a moment or two. She shouted to Miroku, who was trying to bind them with his scrolls, "There are too many of them!"

Miroku chanted something that made one wolf freeze and fall over before saying, "I agree, but we can't call Inuyasha. He's likely caring for Kagome-sama right now."

Sango stopped swinging the bone and drew her sword and impaled a wolf in the gut, "I know, I'll call Kirara!" She swung her sword around in a circle, maiming three wolf demons and keeping everyone at least a meter's distance away from her. She put her fingers to her mouth and blew, and continued on with the attack.

"I hope she heard that…" Sango prayed as she kept herself in motion. Suddenly, a wolf got a good kick in and knocked the boomerang bone off of her back. The sudden change in weight made her fly forward, straight into another wolf who disarmed her of her sword.

"Sango!" Miroku called. He threw a scroll at the demon's head and he was forced to retreat away from Sango. Miroku hurried over to her side, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Sango said quickly, "Watch out!" A wolf was lunging at the two, jaws wide and snapping.

"Retreat!" the voice of Kouga resonated throughout the air. The wolf that was about to attack, stopped short and every single wolf in the palace emptied out as quickly as they came, with the exception of the few that Miroku bound.

Sango and Miroku looked at each other.

"Why did they retreat?" Sango wondered, "They were _winning_."

"They got Kagome…"

The two looked up at the stairwell where Inuyasha came hobbling down, still human and using his sword like a cane, "Or rather, she decided to go with them…"

"What?! Why?" both Miroku and Sango exclaimed.

Inuyasha turned his head away, as if he was ashamed, "She told me… that I should live…"

Sango stood up and walked strait over to Inuyasha, "What are you talking about? What happened up there?!"

O.o

**Kouga looked unimpressed by the jewel, "Sorry, Kagome, that isn't going to be enough for his life, this time…"**

**Kagome became puzzled. What else could he possibly want besides the jewel?**

"… **along with the jewel," Kouga continued, "I want you."**

**Kagome stared at him, wide-eyed. Inuyasha did the same. After a pause that felt like it lasted an eternity, Kagome shook her head and gave a nervous laugh, "Very funny Kouga. Here's the jewel. Take it." She threw it towards him. It landed right by Inuyasha, who was still staring at Kouga unbelievingly. **

**Kouga huffed, "I'm not joking. Come with me…" her bent down and picked up the jewel and tossed it back to her, "…**_**with**_** the jewel, or else Inuyasha dies."**

**Inuyasha stared between the two. Kouga was confident, anyone with eyes could tell that; he knew what Kagome's answer would be. Kagome looked like she couldn't even grasp onto the situation. **

**Inuyasha mentally cursed. She was going to do something stupid, he knew she was. He yelled at her, "Don't you dare say 'yes' Kagome!" The pressure on his neck doubled as Kouga let out a feral growl, "I wouldn't be talking tough with such a feeble body, mutt."**

"**Kouga! Please! Stop that!" Kagome began to tear up, "You're hurting him…" Kagome let out a sob.**

**Inuyasha's eyes became wide. What was she doing? She was crying! Why was she crying? His life didn't mean anything. Her life would be undoubtedly easier if he was just out of the picture, so… why was she weeping like that?**

**Kouga was also shocked. He mumbled, "What the hell…?" His foot loosened a bit on Inuyasha's neck. Inuyasha turned away from Kagome and took Kouga's confusion as opportunity to force his leg up from the ground and kick Kouga from behind. **

**Kagome let out a gasp and Kouga lifted up his foot entirely and cursed. Inuyasha rolled away and stood up hurriedly, picking up his discarded sword.**

"**You **_**MUTT**_**," Kouga snarled as he leapt in to attack. Inuyasha tried to block the kick with his sword, but while it was in that form it was next to useless. Kouga just adjusted his foot to hit a little lower than his face and kicked him hard in the chest. A few cracking sounds echoed about the halls and Kouga grabbed Inuyasha by the collar and reared back his arm to deliver a mortally wounding punch.**

"**I'LL GO KOUGA!!!!!" Kagome cried at the last second. Kouga stopped his fist right in front of Inuyasha's nose. If that punch had landed, Inuyasha could have easily have been dead. He tried to see Kouga's expression. He was grinning darkly. That sinister grin turned into a happy smile as he turned to Kagome, "Really? Done then." He dropped Inuyasha and left him to watch stupidly as Kouga picked up Kagome like a princess.**

"**Will you call off all your men?" Kagome asked warily, looking sort of uncomfortable.**

"**Of course, I will," Kouga said, "Even if it wasn't part of the deal, the least I can owe the people who spared me is their lives…" **

"**Kagome!" Inuyasha tried to yell, "Do you even know…." He paused to take a gasp of breath, "….what the hell you are doing?!"**

**Kagome still had tears in her eyes, "Yes. You should live Inuyasha. I'm sorry." **

**Kouga shot Inuyasha a cocky look, "Sayounara, mutt."**

**Kouga hopped through a shoji door (not the one that was purified), and Inuyasha heard the breaking of glass. He stood up, panting hard and hurt badly. He used Tessaiga as something to lean on, he would need to go downstairs. He needed to reach Sango and Miroku. That idiot! Inuyasha could already feel it, the moon's power was waning and every step he took he felt a little stronger. It would only be a matter of time before he would be restored to being a half demon.**

O.o

Sango shook her head, "Kagome…"

"'Tis a pity, she's so sweet," Miroku mentioned gravely.

"'Tis a pity she so _stupid_," Inuyasha corrected.

Sango shot him a glare, "She left to save YOU."

"That's what makes her so stupid!" Inuyasha snapped back, "She wouldn't be quiet! She couldn't keep in the stupid room! She couldn't just say no to stupid wolf-boy! She had to cry stupid tears over me! She's so stupid!!" he yelled, his head hanging low, "She so stupid…"

Sango's critical eyes became soft when she saw what he meant, "Inuyasha…"

"We're going after her…"

Miroku and Sango stared at him incredulously, "Now?"

His hair began to pale and his eyes distorted right in front of them, "Yes, now."

Nails and fangs grew pointed and his human ears shrank as his dog ears grew.

"But Inuyasha, we're tired. We have been fighting all night!" Miroku tried to reason with him, "We could barely fight off the few that came here, and you look positively beat up."

Inuyasha smirked and punched himself lightly in the chest he couldn't even touch while he was human, "I'm feeling a lot better."

A roar pierced the night's silence and the giant flaming demon cat came running into the entry hall. Inuyasha smirked, "Nice timing Kirara. Miroku, Sango, get on now."

Sango went over and picked up her sword and boomerang bone, "I'm in."

Miroku nodded, "As am I, but…" he motioned around him to the demons who were still being bound, "What are we to do about these?"

Sango frowned, "Kagome wouldn't appreciate it if we just outright killed them…"

Inuyasha took out Tessaiga and it transformed. He grinned maniacally, "Well, now that she's been abducted, maybe she wouldn't mind so much…?"

Sango and Miroku gave him un-amused glares. Inuyasha huffed, "Fine. I'll save it for Kouga." He turned to the doors leading out and sniffed the air, "This place reeks of wolf, let's go. We'll be able to rail them easily."

"And the wolves…?"

"Just let them sit there for a while, nothing will happen to them…" Inuyasha shrugged.

O.o

Kagome clung to Kouga as he leaped over boulders and through brush. She was amazingly uncomfortable, and she was worried why he wanted her so much. She knew what it _sounded_ like he wanted her for, but… that couldn't really be it right? He despised Inuyasha and humans, there was no way…

Kagome sighed, it was just from one prison to another…

Kouga suddenly stopped running and mentioned to her, "Here we are…"

Kagome looked up at a long magnificent waterfall and heard the thunder of it crashing below her. She looked around, where was here exactly…?

Kouga made a sudden leap into the waterfall. Kagome screamed as they went through it and straight into a hidden den. Kagome shivered after being doused with a volume of freezing water at one o' clock at night. Kouga put her down and said, "Welcome home."

"C- c- cold," she stuttered out.

Kouga gave her a confused look, "Really, I hadn't noticed."

Kagome gulped it down and asked him directly, "Kouga, what exactly are your intentions with me?"

Kouga smirked, "You honestly couldn't tell? I'm going to make you my woman, Kagome."

Kagome stared at him. He couldn't be serious. She tried to reason with him, granted, she had new reason to believe that he wasn't the good guy that she thought he was, but surely there was a bit of him that was like the Kouga she knew from the castle, "Kouga, stop pulling my leg, you said that you _hated_ humans."

Kouga sniffed, "But I said that you weren't a bad one, didn't I? You're different, you're tolerant, and kind," Kouga pointed out. Kagome blushed a little, she couldn't help it, being complimented like that, it's hard not to.

"You also have the jewel…"

Kagome's face paled back to its normal color. Her jaw tightened. She agreed to go with him, but not become his woman or his key to the jewel. She huffed and folded her arms, "Kouga, stop it. I thought you were better than this."

Kouga sighed, "Ah, Kagome, let's not argue, Hakkaku and Ginta will escort you to my chambers, we'll talk there after I account for the losses."

Kagome's eyes widened considerably. She didn't like the idea of being held in his "chambers". Hakkaku and Ginta came over to her and greeted her happily, "Good evening, sister!"

Kagome couldn't help being a little happy to see them. She gave them weak smiles despite herself. Kouga grasped her hand in his and she began to panic and become flustered. He wasn't going to try to pull anything, was he?

"The jewel…"

Kagome looked up at him, and then down at her hands. Since she broke the chain, she had kept the jewel in her hands the entire time. She continued to hold onto it, she shook her head, "No, Kouga. The deal was you got the jewel _with_ me. I will not hand it over."

Kouga's eyes narrowed a bit, but in the end, he shrugged it off, "Okay, just make sure it never escapes your grasp, got it?"

Kagome gave a relieved nod. She knew by now that he was entirely capable of taking it and doing worse, so it was comforting to know that he would let her keep the jewel.

"This way, sister," Hakkaku motioned. Kagome nodded and followed him warily. The more she walked through the den, the more she felt beady, hungry wolf eyes on her. These were not satisfying living conditions. She clenched her hands and eyes shut, she wished she was back at Inuyasha's palace…

Kagome was brought into a fairly roomy, but secluded part of the den. The smell of old blood made her nauseous. She glanced at the dirt floor to see a great, damp brown spot on the floor. She dared to ask Hakkaku, "What's that."

"Oh, that's the elected leader's blood," Hakkaku said indifferently.

Kagome blanched as Ginta added in a sort of grim way, "_Former_ elected leader."

Kagome covered her mouth and nose in disgust and ventured, "And where am I to sleep…?"

Hakkaku and Ginta exchanged confused glances, "Well, this is the leader's chamber and you are Kouga's woman so… here, of course."

She had a feeling…

"We'll leave you to get comfortable…" Hakkaku said awkwardly.

"No! Wait!" Kagome stopped them. She didn't want to be left alone in this place. There was a dried up pool of blood on the floor for gods' sakes. She pleaded, "Please, can you two just stay with me…?"

Hakkaku and Ginta blushed a little, "Uhhh… sure, Sister…"

Kagome sat down in the dirt, the furthest place away possible from the blood stain. Hakkaku and Ginta sat down too, a little unsure of what they should be doing.

Kagome attempted to make small talk, more for the sake of being distracted than for anything else, "So, is it nice to be home?"

Hakkaku grinned, looking a little more relaxed, "Yeah! And it's all thanks to you, sister!"

Ginta joined in, "If you hadn't put in your word to save us, and spent time with us and healed and bandaged and fed us, we'd be goners!"

Kagome laughed weakly, can't helping but feel that she had made the wrong choice that day, "I was glad to do it. I am happy I was able to help. You two are really nice, and I swore Kouga was too…" Kagome trailed off, feeling lonelier by the second.

"Kouga is good, Sister!" Ginta insisted, "He really does care about you, I'm sure of it!"

Kagome stared at Ginta, a little surprised, she had always thought about him as the quieter one.

"Kouga has never been the type to sit down and takes things. He always takes what he wants, and gets rid of those he hates!" Ginta continued, his eyes practically shining with respect, "But he has always been patient with you, and he cares about what you do or say! I know he looks bad now, but since Hakkaku and I have been with him, I think the majority of his cruelty is just an act to keep power, and really he's a great guy, just like Sister said that night!"

Kagome was taken aback, surprised that Ginta could even say that much. He had always been shy around her. Hakkaku nodded in approval, "Yeah! I always thought that Kouga was pretty scary until Sister took care of us and we spent some one-on-one time with him!"

"Yeah! He's so awesome!"

"Really cool!"

Kagome couldn't take it anymore. She burst out laughing. Hakkaku and Ginta gave her confused looks. Kagome only laughed harder. They were practically confessing their love for Kouga. They were swooning like village girls over the mysterious and handsome young Samurai. She was tempted to add in 'What a hunk' just for good measure. Kagome could take it no longer. Tears came to her eyes as she rolled to the ground laughing.

"Kagome are you alright?" Hakkaku crawled closer to her.

"What's so funny?"

Kagome's laughter died as she glanced up and saw Kouga at the entrance of the small den. He gave her a genuinely warm smile, "I'm happy you're getting comfortable."

Kagome coughed and composed herself nervously. Kouga sat next to her and while staring at her said, "Hakkaku, Ginta, you're dismissed."

Kagome heard the pair scurry away as they were told. She focused on the ground in front of her. She knew Kouga was staring at her, but she refused to look. Even if Kouga was the great guy that Hakkaku and Ginta assured her he was, he still abducted her from her home and nearly killed Inuyasha. Kagome blinked, since when did she think as Inuyasha's palace as home…?

"Kagome…?" Kouga murmured.

Kagome gulped, "Yes…?"

"You _do_ know what I want when I say I want you as my woman, right?" Kouga asked.

Kagome blushed and said defensively, "Of course I know."

It was then when Kouga took her arms and pinned her to the wolf pelts on the ground, which she had guessed earlier was supposed to be the bed. She couldn't help but think, perhaps in her panic, how amazing gross it was to be sleeping on one of your own's skin and fur. She shook the thought out of her head and Kouga leaned in to kiss her.

"Wait, Kouga! Stop! I'm not ready for this!" she said in desperation.

To her surprise, Kouga stopped himself. He sighed and got off of her and sat cross-legged aside to her and folded his arms, "Oh, fine."

Kagome sat up and looked at him unbelievingly, "Really?"

Kouga pouted, "Well, I'm not going to force you. Wolves mate for life, you know. It would be extremely unpleasant to spend the rest of your life with someone who resented you for forcing yourself onto them."

Kagome stared blankly at him. That was… pretty logical… and amazingly convenient.

Kouga blushed when he saw Kagome's surprised look, "Gods, Kagome, do you really think so little of me that I would force you to sleep with me?"

"Well, you did force me out of Inuyasha's castle at the rooster's hour so I could become your woman so I figured you'd be a little…" Kagome searched for a nice way to say it, but couldn't think of any and said, "…desperate."

Kouga stared at her seriously, "I am desperate."

Kagome blushed as Kouga went on, "You don't really think that I want you just because of the jewel, do you? I won't lie- it's a nice bonus, but I want you because you were kind to me and my men, you cared for us regardless over the fact that we attacked you and your little brother, you stood up for us and you were polite to us and tried to see us as individuals instead of demons. You continue to go on about how nice you think everyone is, and yet you don't even recognize yourself as the nicest of us all."

Kagome was beet red now. This was the Kouga that she remembered. It was as if the Kouga she saw choking Inuyasha was just some nightmare, and here he was, the really him.

She still would never sleep with him…

Kouga's eyes turned furious and his head shot in the direction of the cave entrance. He got up and stormed out, shouting to his men to prepare for a fight. Kagome rushed out behind him, surprised that he would just jump up like that after being so calm, "Kouga, what is it?"

He gave her a quick glance, "Mutt-face followed us. It feels like he got his demon powers back too," he growled. Kagome put her hands over her mouth. Inuyasha came for her! She couldn't believe it, he came for her!

Kouga, noticing her hope growled menacingly, "Get back in the den, Kagome."

Kagome looked up at him like he was crazy. She had spent all night being told to go hide somewhere! She tried to get a word edgewise but Kouga shouted, "Just get back in the room!"

Kagome reeled back, in fear. Kouga was giving her the same feral look that he showed Inuyasha when he was stepping on his throat. Kagome knew better than to keep defying him. She went straight back into the room, angered and frightened.

O.o

"Inuyasha, are you sure you know where you're going?" Sango asked, tired and cranky.

Inuyasha growled, "The scent ends here. I don't know why…" Inuyasha stared up at the huge waterfall. He could sense demonic presence and smell wolves, but he couldn't tell from where or what direction.

Miroku looked about the place and hopped off of Kirara, "I sense that they are very near by…"

"I do too, but I just don't know what direction and where…"

Sango also hopped off Kirara and examined the bank at the bottom of the waterfall, "How strange. I thought that perhaps they had dived into the water so that you could lose their scent, but there are no wet paths anywhere and there is no way the water could evaporate already at this temperature so…" Sango looked at the top of the waterfall, "They must have gone up…"

"I'll go check it out," Inuyasha said, leaping up from rock to rock, quickly making his way up the falls. About midway through climbing, Inuyasha notices the smell of wolves coming back to him, and very, very strongly. He jumped from a rock on one side of the falls to one on the other side, and before he could stop himself, Kouga came charging out of the waterfall and kicked him in the side, sending him flying across the sky. Inuyasha flipped in the air and was able to land on his feet, but he clutched his side in pain. It didn't hurt as much as his chest did, but it still smarted.

Inuyasha stared at the top of the falls where Kouga stood, eyes glowing in the dark, "Out of respect for Kagome I'll ask you nicely to leave my lands, mutt."

Inuyasha scoffed, "'Respect for Kagome'? Since when do you respect her?! You spirited her off from my castle like some expensive trinket!! So you can just shut up and give us back Kagome!"

Kouga's eyes narrowed, "Kagome seemingly has grown attached to you and your little group, mutt. She is upset that I had to force her away from you…"

"Well, DUH," Inuyasha interjected.

Kouga continued, "Perhaps… if I just get rid of you, she'll forget you and stay with me…" Wolves and wolf demons began to bleed out of bushes and trees and out of the waterfall as Kouga spoke. Inuyasha noticed Sango and Miroku flinch, "There has to be at least five times the number of wolves than what we saw at the palace. Even with Kirara, there's no way we can beat them…"

Inuyasha glanced at the wolves and scoffed, "I can take them." He drew out his sword and Miroku gaped, "Inuyasha, you aren't going to use that attack, are you?"

"I will if he doesn't cough up Kagome…" Inuyasha replied with a perfectly even tone.

Kouga raised a hand and motioned for an attack. Wolves came charging down the cliff like droplets of the waterfall itself. Sango became urgent, "Fine, I don't care, just do it."

Inuyasha had already started. He breathed deeply and aimed his sword, "Kaze no Kizu!" he shouted as he jumped into the air and planned to deliver the blow.

"RETREAT!" Kouga shouted before Inuyasha hit the scar. Most were able to comply, but about a sixth of his pack perished with the blow. It was a humungous, deadly attack, and it left the entire mountain looking as if it had been raked by gargantuan claws.

O.o

Kagome sat curled up in the cave. All of the demons had left to fight outside with Kouga. Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku were only three people, and Kagome saw the full scale of Kouga's pack while entering. It was a huge number.

Kagome bit her lower lip. She hated this. She definitely didn't want Inuyasha, Sango, or Miroku to die or lose, but she couldn't say that she wanted them to succeed in killing Kouga, Hakkaku, and Ginta either. She had been close to both sides, why was she forced into being the prize of who won this horrid battle?

The cave rumbled and a rock about the size of her head landed right next to her. She screamed and looked around the cave. It was caving in!! She ran out of the den and scrambled her way over to near the waterfall entrance. She turned around to see even more rocks falling. This wasn't good. She looked directly up to see a stalactite wavering over her ominously. She heard the cracking sound of it losing its grasp upon the ceiling and Kagome was forced to jump the only way she could: out of the waterfall.

She let out a piercing scream as she fell towards the rocks and the mist, "SOMEONE HELP ME!!!"

"Kagome?!!" she heard Kouga yell.

"KAGOME!!!!" Inuyasha yelled even louder. Kouga jumped from atop the waterfall for her and Inuyasha jumped into the mist of the waterfall and Kagome screamed.

O.o (Yes, hate me if you must…)

_Inuyasha dropped his sword and looked around at the massacre. What happened? Had he done this? His clothes were ripped and blood was leaking out several fairly deep cuts in his body. He looked down by his sword to see the familiar arm of his brother. His hands began to shake and he looked at his blood-soaked hands, and came to the horrible realization that it wasn't his blood…_

_He saw a familiar body in the distance and his eyes grew wide in horror. He tried to will his legs to take himself somewhere far away from her, but he couldn't make it happen. He stood perfectly still as the girl crawled over to him and grabbed him firmly by the wrist. She had lost a lot of blood from a massive wound in the chest, and her eye was gorged out, giving her the appearance of crying blood from her empty socket. Her other eye was crying also, "The wish became tainted, she said… you didn't really want to save her, she said…" Kaede whispered._

"_What happened, I revealed the true form of Tessaiga! What the hell happened?!" Inuyasha yelled desperately._

"_YOU FOOL!" she shouted, "Do you have any idea how much of a fool you are?! Last night…" she sobbed, "Kikyo came to me… crying…" Inuyasha stared at her in disbelief as Kaede continued, "She told me that she had hurt you… she had hurt you so badly… she wouldn't be able to face you again… and then she said… she said…" Kaede choked on the words themselves, "__**she said she loved you**__." Inuyasha became as frozen and cold as stone when he heard that. Kaede shouted, "She said that she loved you, and that if I couldn't deal with it I shouldn't call her sister anymore!!! Ane-san…" she sobbed._

_Inuyasha stared at her with all the sadness in the world, both for her, and for himself._

"_You couldn't save her though, could you?!" Kaede screamed in agony and regret, "You couldn't save any of us! The sword we made for you… ye couldn't even use it!" _

_Inuyasha clenched his teeth so he wouldn't cry, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened…" _

"_It's too late for that! My sister's dead! Your mother's dead! They are all are dead! You never loved her like she loved you..." Kaede wailed. _

_Inuyasha winced as a surprisingly strong grip started to bury her nails into his flesh. Her body began to weigh her down and with it came her nails, giving him four long scratch marks down his wrist. He yelled in pain he never felt from a single scratch wound before. _

"_I curse you Inuyasha!" Kaede screamed. She started to glow with a light blue light, a long sheet of paper appeared out of nowhere with a brush striking up and down violently spelling out a long contract in red ink. Inuyasha watched in awe and shock. This wasn't priestess magic! How was she doing that?_

"_I curse you for being the cause of Kikyo's death… __These scratches will always remind you what you have done to you and all of your close one's families… They will never go away until you repent for what you have done and for what you have failed to do while they were all alive… while SHE was alive. And Inuyasha… may the gods have mercy on you if you ever even consider of touching someone besides she who loved you, may you go through this again and again if you ever even lay a finger on anyone besides Kikyo!"_

_The pen finalized the contract with a swerved signature. Before disappearing and leaving nothing but a floating paper, which lightly floated down upon Kaede's corpse like a falling leaf. Inuyasha stared at the monstrosity, with pure horror on his face. What did she mean… they were all dead? What the hell had just happened?!!_

"_You finally are back to normal, I see…" _

_Inuyasha had tears in his eyes as he turned himself around to see Sesshomaru clasping his bloody shoulder and making his way over to Inuyasha, he stared down at Kaede's corpse and the piece of paper. He inquired, "What is that?"_

"_Sesshomaru, what the hell went on?" Inuyasha's rage was picking up, he charged towards his brother yelling, "WHAT THE HELL WENT ON?!!!"_

_Sesshomaru sighed, "Find out from one of your little friends… if they're still alive. I do recall you attacking one…"_

_Inuyasha reared back, he had attacked one of his friends…?_

_Sesshomaru looked about the place and sneered, he kicked his decapitated arm and declared, "I will move to the demon castle in the Western Lands, Inuyasha. I will bring Father and Izayoi there to be buried. Tell the rest of the living staff to find a place to bury all these bodies, also tell them to pack their things. We shall leave this castle. Not you though, Inuyasha, you must be banished."_

_Inuyasha just stared at him the entire time. He managed to just say, "What?"_

_Sesshomaru shot him an evil glare, "You killed a sixth of the Lord of the Western Land's staff, Inuyasha, and you can also be held accountable for the deaths of your parents and the priestess Kikyo. To merely banish you is me being lenient."_

_Inuyasha continued to stare at him, he could feel tears coming down his cheek. He must be kidding… everyone was dead… so suddenly…? But they were fine and alive this morning… He stared back down at his hands, stained with blood; did he really kill everybody…?_


	18. Sayounara

Oh wow, guys! I'm so very happy! I went to sleep immediately after posting Shuugeki and Saratta and when I woke up my hits number increased by 400 and my reviews increased by four! Just over night! Thank you so much.

Also I was happy that you didn't absolutely hate my writing style for the action and angst scenes this time. I was pretty worried since during that last scene with Inuyasha left me feeling like people were going to be really unimpressed… Anyway, I was also really surprised that people didn't see that coming… ::looks around, confused:: Did anybody notice that I practically took some sentences word from word from chapter 10? Hm, guess not… It _was_ a long time ago…

Chapitre 18

Sayounara

Auroras-flame

Kagome's eye popped open when she felt herself being caught from the monstrous fall. She glanced down to see a red haori through the mist of the waterfall. She looked up, eyes squinting, "Inuyasha…"

"Kagome! RUN!!!" she heard Miroku shout from somewhere else.

"Huh…?" she murmured, glancing away only briefly before looking up at Inuyasha. His eyes were red and his fangs had grown to an inhuman length. He looked down at her in an almost pained face, before snarling in a feral manner. Kagome gasped, "Inuyasha?!"

Kouga dropped out of nowhere and kicked Inuyasha in the side, forcing him to drop Kagome. She screamed, but she was brought back up by Kouga in a flash. He growled, more defensively than anything, "What's wrong with him…? Suddenly, he smells like a full demon…"

Kagome's head flashed towards where Inuyasha had supposedly landed. It was nearly impossible to see or hear anything in this mist and roar of the waterfall, but she could clearly see his bright red haori and matching eyes.

Kouga jumped out of the mist and landed near Sango and Miroku. He placed Kagome down and ordered, "You two, take care of her."

Sango scoffed and raised her boomerang bone, "No, _you_ take care of her. You can't handle Inuyasha…"

Kouga snarled, "What did you say, wench?!"

"It's true," Miroku said calmly, drawing out some peculiar red scrolls and slowly spreading them out one by one, "We have trained to handle him when he's like this. Please, just make sure that Kagome-sama stays safe, will you?"

Kagome ran over to Miroku, "What's going on? Why is he like that?!"

Miroku gave a sort of sorry smirk, "You know that thing…? The reason we kept you at the palace, and we couldn't tell you about no matter how you asked?"

Kagome got wide eyed as she came to the realization. Sango ended Miroku's sentence simply, "This is it… mostly."

"But… how-?" Kagome was interrupted by Inuyasha charging suddenly out of the mist, snarling and claws reared back for delivering deathblows.

"Miroku! Bind him!" Sango called. Miroku did just that. He threw the red scroll directly at his head, forcing him to freeze mid-air. Sango took no time leaping from the rock and swinging her Hiraikotsu, hit Inuyasha straight in the head.

Kagome watched in horror as the binding slowly began to disintegrate and Inuyasha and his eyes rolled into the back of his head, paling from red to white as his eyes closed. Once the scroll had entirely disappeared, Inuyasha fell down past the rocks and into the water below.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called, jumping to the rock's edge. Kouga grabbed her waist and pulled her away, "Watch it!"

Sango turned to Kirara, "He has reverted. Kirara, please go and fetch him before he drowns." The flaming demon cat gave a roar of obedience before diving down into the mist.

Kagome pulled herself from Kouga's grasp, "What the heck just happened?" she demanded to Miroku and Sango.

The two gave themselves a look, before gazing back regretfully to Kagome, "Inuyasha is… cursed," Sango said.

Kagome looked between the two, "What do you mean, cursed?"

Miroku explained "You see, he turns into that whenever…"

Kirara resurfaced, drenched and extinguished, with Inuyasha passed out on his back. Miroku and everyone else became distracted as they checked Inuyasha's condition. Kirara bent down and slowly let Inuyasha off onto the ground.

Kagome rushed over to him and got on her knees, "Inuyasha…!"

"Don't touch him!" Sango cried before Kagome could touch his forehead. Kagome looked up at her friend, surprised by her reaction.

Inuyasha began to cough, some water escaped his mouth and his eyes opened a bit. Kagome turned back to him, and hovered over him with concern, "Inuyasha!!"

Inuyasha turned his head to look at her, "Kagome… you're alright."

Kagome nodded her head, "I'm fine. I'm fine."

Inuyasha winced, "Did I… change…?"

"Yes," Miroku confirmed, crouching down beside Kagome, "You did. But Sango and I successfully got you back to normal."

Inuyasha chuckled darkly, "Crap."

"Enough of this."

The party's attentions were turned to Kouga who began walking towards Inuyasha, "I don't know what the hell is going on, but I recall being about to kill that mutt, so now is a good as time as any."

"We won't let you!" Sango hissed as she began to launch an attack. Kouga dodged the Boomerang Bone and delivered a kick to her gut that sent her flying off the rock.

"Sango!" Miroku exclaimed, running to the edge where she was kicked from and diving in. Kirara roared and tried to maul Kouga, but Kouga delivered another kick that didn't force Kirara off the edge, but knocked her out and made her revert to a smaller kitten-looking demon. Kouga took another step towards Inuyasha and said, "So long, Mutt."

"Feh, playing dirty," Inuyasha growled.

Kouga shrugged, "I don't particularly like it, but you've been a thorn in my side..."

Kagome rushed in front of Inuyasha with her arms extended and faced Kouga firmly. Kouga halted, a mere meter away from the immobile Inuyasha.

Kagome shook her head, "Don't do this Kouga. He's very hurt."

Kouga continued to stare hatefully at Inuyasha, "Get out of my way, Kagome."

"No, Kouga, I won't," she said determinedly, "If you want to kill him, you will have to kick me off this rock and let me drown."

Kouga finally shot her a pained look, "Just move, Kagome! He's been a nuisance and besides," he gave her a glare, "since when do you _like_ him?!" He crouched down close to her and took her shoulders in his hands, "Why are you protecting him like this, Kagome?! Why do you even bother?! Do you love him?! Do you love this… _MUTT_?!!"

Kagome didn't look away, she didn't flinch, and she didn't stutter. She waited for him to calm down a little before saying, "I would do the same for you."

Kouga released her and gave her a helpless look.

She continued, "I would do the same for you, and you know it. It isn't about who I love or like more. It's about gratitude and kindness and doing what I think is the right thing to do. There is no deeper meaning."

Kouga just stared at her. After a long silence he let out a hurt laugh, "You're never going to love me as much as I love you, are you?"

Kagome bit her lower lip. She lowered her arms and placed them in her lap. She slowly shook her head, "I'm sorry, Kouga."

He stood up, turned around and folded his arms. Kagome looked up at him, feeling just so terribly guilty.

"Go."

Kagome blinked. Kouga repeated himself, "You can go. Take Inuyasha, take the Shikon too, and you can leave. I won't bother you anymore…"

Kagome stood up and murmured, "Kouga…"

A clattering sound like rock on rock interrupted them. The Hiraikotsu was thrown up and had landed with a bang on the slab of rock. Miroku next came up, with an unconscious Sango in his arm. He placed her up gently on the slab before bringing himself up. The two were sopping wet. Despite the dampness, Miroku turned a fiery glare onto Kouga. Instead of bringing out scrolls like he normally did, he rolled back his monk robe's sleeve and marched over to him as if he were about to get into a pub brawl.

Kagome rushed over and grabbed his arm before he did anything rash, "Miroku! Stop. Kouga agreed to let me go, and Inuyasha's safe!"

Miroku stopped and stared at Kagome unbelievingly, "Really?"

"It's true."

Miroku and Kagome turned their heads to see Inuyasha forcing himself up, "I saw it all…"

Miroku pulled his sleeve back down, "I see…"

A soft mewing came from the group's feet. The small Kirara looked like she was just coming to. She squinted her eyes and then shuddered in pain. Miroku mumbled, "We really need to get everyone home to heal…"

"We'll leave now," Inuyasha agreed, he picked up Kirara and placed him on his shoulder, "Sorry, not as comfortable as Sango's, I'm sure, but it'll be a quick ride." He turned to Miroku, "Without Kirara, we won't be able to return as quickly as we came. I'll carry Sango and Kirara to the castle on my own, and then I'll come back for you."

Miroku gave a glance towards Kouga and asked, "Is that wise?"

Inuyasha gave Kouga, who had never moved or turned around, a look. He shook his head, "I think he means what he says. I'll be back soon."

Inuyasha placed Sango upon his back and raced off into the woods. The roar of the waterfall was all there was for a second or two. Everyone else was silent. Miroku was, Kagome was, Kouga was, and so were every single one of his pack.

Kagome turned to Miroku and asked warily, "Would you mind… giving us a moment?"

Miroku gave her a worried stare only to have her insist, "I will be fine, just for a moment, please."

Miroku still looked worried, but he backed off and leapt from the rock and onto the bank so she could be alone with Kouga.

She came a little closer to him. She knew that asking Miroku to leave may have been useless, since the wolves could likely hear everything that she was going to say from the distance, but she didn't care too much. Who knows, maybe if she spoke quietly enough the roar of the waterfall would mute her out to them.

"Kouga…" she gave him a short bow, "Thank you. For this, and for being so kind to me."

He didn't turn around, "Geez, Kagome, are you trying to make me feel bad? I decided to let you go, I could always change my mind…"

Kagome shook her head, "You won't. You're good on your word. You're a good person, Kouga; there is no doubt in my mind about that now."

He finally turned around, his eyes were sad, "You're the nicest, Kagome."

Kagome smiled at him, "It doesn't have to end here, you know…"

He gave her a confused look to which she corrected herself, "I won't be your woman… but that doesn't mean that we can't ever see each other again. I know Inuyasha won't appreciate me saying this, but I would be very happy if you came back to visit the palace sometimes. Or maybe sometime, I could come visit you, if that would be alright…" she added cautiously.

Kouga laughed, somewhat bitterly. He glanced at Kagome, "You would be welcome, I'm sure. But first we will need to find a new den, or at least clean up this one, and then there wouldn't be a guarantee I'd let you go once you came."

Kagome nodded, "Then that settles it. One day, we will have to visit each other."

"I guess we will…"

Nice lies are too pretty not to be said.

Kagome sighed, "I should go down and see Miroku. They have a lot of explaining to do for me," she gave Kouga a warm smile, "Good bye, Kouga."

Kouga smiled back, "Good bye, Kagome."

Kagome got over to the edge of the rock, and began to delicately make her way down.

"I love you."

Kagome looked up at Kouga, his head bent down and blushing slightly. She smiled at him, "Thank you."

O.o

Rin lay awake in her bed, unable to sleep. She had too much on her mind.

**Rin sat still as Ms. Higurashi re-bandaged her neck. She let out a sigh of relief, "Ah! This is looking much better, Rin-chan! It will leave a scar, without a doubt, but it won't hurt at least." **

**Rin placed a hand on her neck and smiled, "Thank you Mrs. Higurashi! My neck has felt so much better after you have been tending it." **

**Ms. Higurashi smiled, "You're welcome, Rin-chan."**

**Rin had become very close to Ms. Higurashi over her time here. Ever since she saw the wound on Rin's neck she had been tending to her and talking to her. To be honest, Rin loved the attention. She had almost forgotten what it was like to have a mother, and she saw that in Ms. Higurashi. **

"**Higurashi-san," Rin murmured.**

"**Yes?"**

"**You know so much about healing… and I heard from Souta that you dedicated some of your life to learning about plants with medicinal abilities and how to bandage someone properly," suddenly Rin got terribly embarrassed and blushed, "Would you mind… maybe… teaching me how to, maybe?"**

**Ms. Higurashi smiled warmly, "Of course, Rin-chan. I would be delighted."**

**Rin grinned broadly and hugged Ms. Higurashi, who gratefully accepted her hug and returned it.**

**The shoji door opened from behind them. **

**Rin released Ms. Higurashi and they both turned to see Mr. Higurashi at the door.**

**He looked pretty down and scared when she first saw him. Ms. Higurashi asked, "What's the matter, dear?"**

**Mr. Higurashi looked at her, but then saw Rin, "Oh! Rin-chan, you're here…" he tilted his head slightly, "Would you mind… giving me and Ms. Higurashi some time alone…?"**

**Rin nodded warily and stood up, as she was passing Mr. Higurashi, she realized what this was about. She stared up at him as he fidgeted around in nervousness. He was going to tell her about Kagome!! Rin grinned, confidentially and ran out of the room. She murmured, "Ganbatte!" before shutting the door behind her and running away from that part of the house. **

**Rin ran over to Souta's room in the mean time and rushed straight in. Souta blushed with embarrassment and he hissed, "Don't just burst into someone's room like that, Rin!!"**

**Rin shook it off and exclaimed, "He's telling your mother, Souta! He's telling her about Kagome!"**

**Souta's eyes widened and he tried to leave his room immediately. Rin caught up to him and restrained him with her arms, "Oh no you don't!!! You gotta let him do it himself! You're mom will come out here in a second to talk about it! Be patient!"**

**As if she had heard her, Ms. Higurashi came bursting into hall with tears coming out of her eyes and her mouth covered. Souta broke free and ran to his mother and hugged her, "Mom! Mom!! It's okay, Kagome is fine, she really is, you got to believe me!"**

**His mother turned down to look at him and removed the hand covering her mouth. She was smiling so hard that her face was turning red, "My child is **_**alive**_**."**

Rin sighed. It had soon become arranged that she and Souta would go visit Kagome in Inuyasha's castle. They were to venture out tomorrow morning. They had excluded Mr. Higurashi because technically Inuyasha had banned him from the castle, and she was told she shouldn't come along because the story they were telling Grandpa Higurashi was that they were going to the town that they had buried Kagome in the pay their respects. Rin's entire story revolved around her coming to the Higurashi home because she befriended Souta and she hated that town, so to go there would look pretty strange.

Rin curled up. It really wasn't fair. She wanted to see Kagome too… but she was going to be alone here for who knows how long now…

She hated being alone…

O.o

Kagome climbed down the rocks and saw Miroku sitting on the riverbank, facing the stream. He glanced up and noticed Kagome and mentioned dryly, "Still aloud to leave, I see."

"Yes, Miroku, do you know the general direction to Inuyasha's castle. I would like to at least start walking there," Kagome said.

Miroku stood and dusted himself off, "Anxious to leave, are we?"

Kagome shook her head, "Quite the opposite. I don't want to make this harder than it already is on Kouga. He knows what he did was wrong, and he's letting me go as repentance for it, wouldn't it be best not to push him by staying here longer than what is required?"

Miroku gave a sort of tired sigh, "Kagome-sama, you are much too kind…"

Kagome's eyes narrowed, "And while we walk, you can tell me about _everything_."

Miroku clenched his eyes shut as if being wounded, "… I fear I may have spoken too soon…"

They began their walk and Miroku tried to prevent the discussion, "I understand where you are coming from Kagome-sama, but wouldn't it be better to wait until we get to the palace where everyone can explain?"

"I agree," Kagome ceded, "But you may start it off. Inuyasha shouldn't be _that_ long should he? I know it only took Kouga about a third of an hour to get here, and since Inuyasha is the one running back and forth, it should be just as quick, right?" Kagome gave Miroku a smile that could be listed as both inviting and threatening, "So start talking."

Miroku laughed nervously, "But it's such a very, very long story…"

"We're in the middle of the woods; we've got time."

Miroku sighed, "Let's see, where to begin…? I suppose it all started when Inuyasha's father, Inutaisho-dono, may he rest in peace, requested that my father call in specialty priests to perform very specific refinements onto two of his most prized swords: Tessaiga and Tenseiga."

Kagome interrupted, "Tessaiga is the sword that Inuyasha carries around, isn't it?"

Miroku nodded, "It is. Anyway, the priests that came to improve the swords were actually priestesses. They were my father's old friend's daughters. One of these daughters was Kaede, she was the one who cursed Inuyasha in the end…"

"Yes, what exactly is the curse?" Kagome asked.

Miroku waved her hand, "I'll get to that later, let me just give you the story right now. I wouldn't feel right telling you what the curse is exactly without Inuyasha. So: one of the priestesses was Kaede, she cursed Inuyasha, and she was the younger and the less experienced of the sisters. She was just a little younger than we were at the time…" he focused a little more, "Anyway, the other, the eldest, she might be considered the real cause of this entire mess, Sango feels so fervently. She was incredibly talented, dazzlingly beautiful, very proud, and the only woman that Inuyasha ever loved…"

Kagome's eyes widened at the news.

"… her name… was Kikyo."

O.o

Inuyasha hopped one last time and reached the palace entryway. He opened up the doors and walked straight through. He glanced down at the frozen wolves. There were fewer in number, he noted. After the binding wore, they must have just turned tail and run. He looked over the few that still remained and sneered. He though wolves were supposed to be dedicated to one another, but some of them just up and ditched their comrades. How disgusting.

He made sure to step over the wolves and make it to the stairs. He ascended to the second floor and went to Sango's room. Sango had regained consciousness on the ride over, and Kirara seemed to be getting better too.

Inuyasha placed her lightly on the bed and Kirara jumped off his shoulder and landed on his master's leg. Inuyasha crouched down beside Sango, "You okay?"

Sango gave a grunt, "Yeah, I'm feeling better, but I still think I should lay down for now…"

"I need to go back and get Miroku and Kagome; can I borrow Kirara if he's alright? There are wolves down there so tell me if you don't feel you can handle them if one of them comes up…"

"I'll be fine, and I think Kirara's up to it. Go on, get Kagome…" Sango insisted. She paused, "Inuyasha, out of curiosity: I fell into the river, did I not?"

"Yeah… Miroku dived in and got you, if that's what you're asking," Inuyasha mentioned.

Sango stared at Inuyasha, "He just left you…? When you were just slowly gaining back consciousness and your last protection was Kirara and Kagome…?"

Inuyasha scoffed, "Yeah, it sort of pissed me off… but you're safe, so I guess it's alright… Oh yeah, and then he tried to just punch Kouga out after rescuing you…"

Sango turned her head away, but Inuyasha could still tell she was blushing. He smirked, "I'll bring this up later, but now, I need to go get the other two. See ya soon."

He and Kirara made their way outside again as Sango lay on her bed.

O.o

_Sango and Miroku came rushing up to Inuyasha after Sesshomaru had taken his leave. Sango began yelling obscenities the moment she saw him, "What the HELL just happened Inuyasha??!!! Why were you attacking everybody in sight?!! Why were you killing everybody?!!!"_

_Miroku hissed at her, "Sango-!!" _

_Sango hissed back, "What?!"_

_She turned back to Inuyasha who had finally turned to look at her. He had tears in his eyes and his hands were trembling._

_Sango put her hand to her mouth, and hung her head in shame, "I'm sorry…"_

_Miroku walked over to Kaede's body and clapped his hands together before giving her a small prayer. Sango blanched over the sight of the body, but then noticed the long roll of paper on top of it. She crouched down, "What's that…?"_

_Inuyasha turned away from it and mumbled, "She said that she… cursed me…"_

_Miroku gave him an questioning look before picking up the parchment, "In writing…?"_

"_She also said that… my mother is dead… and so is Kikyo…" Inuyasha looked between Miroku and Sango, "That isn't true, is it?!! I didn't actually… kill them… did I?"_

_Miroku tried to assure him, "They aren't dead by your hand, Inuyasha… but yes…" he admitted, "They are dead… Kikyo killed your mother when she tried to stop you by means of a purified arrow when you were attacking everyone… and Inutaisho-dono… retaliated…" Miroku paused, "Their lives were both cut short in that clash…"_

_Inuyasha's nails dug into the ground and he tried to scream again, but it came out more as a whimper, "She said that… she loved me…" Both Sango and Miroku stared at Inuyasha wide-eyed, "You mean… Kikyo, right…?"_

_Inuyasha could just bring himself to chuckle bitterly, "How messed up is that…?" His head snapped up, "Who else?! Who else did I kill?!"_

_Sango lowered her head, "A great number of the staff, to start with…"_

_Inuyasha looked at Sango helplessly and more prayed than asked, "I didn't kill anyone from your family… please say I didn't…"_

"_You killed my father… and Miroku's…" Sango said painfully, as tears began to run free from her eyes as well, "You hit Kohaku, but he's still alive…"_

_Inuyasha brought his legs to his chest and hugged them tight, "… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Sango, Miroku… I'm so sorry… I don't know what happened… I'm sorry…"_

_Sango and Miroku glanced at each other and then stared at Inuyasha helplessly as he reverted into a small, scared child in front of their very eyes, apologizing profusely, over and over again._

O.o

Oh dear god, this angst, when will it stop? I never intended it to go this far… Oh well, on a lighter note, in the last volume of Inuyasha (I mean the manga, and the 30th one) I came across a startling realization: Kirara is a boy kitty!!!! I had NO IDEA!!! I mean, with a name like _Kirara_? I just had to assume… Ah, well.

I have had so many reviews! Thank you all for them, please look for my reply, in this long list!!!

MULAN-IFUWEREGAY: Yeah, I felt it was better to leave Kagome falling off a cliff as the cliffhanger instead of Kaede popping out of nowhere and Kouga threatening Kagome with handing over the jewel and herself over Inuyasha's life. Obviously, Kagome was going to be saved, but the other things would be a little harder to predict, don't you agree? Thank you so much for reviewing!

SoraKoi: I'm so happy to hear from you again! I'm glad you like my writing style, sometimes I'm afraid that I overuse some phrases way too much, so hearing that you still enjoy the story in spite of that makes me very happy. Thank you for the review and I hope to receive another soon!

TrueBelle: Yes, I'm feeling _reeeally_ bad about how much stuff I'm making poor Inuyasha go through in this fanfic… Thank you so much for your review, and I hope you continue to enjoy my fic.

Denarius: Hello again! I was so surprised to hear that the massacre came as a surprise to you. I'm happy that it came as a surprise, of course, but I was so afraid when writing this that I made it too obvious that a massacre or something just as horrible was coming. As for Kikyo actually being in love; to be totally truthful, I came up with that sort of spur of the moment. Don't get me wrong: I always wanted to portray Kikyo as someone who actually was in love, but was too prideful and bound by her family to give in to that love, but as the scene with Kaede played out, I was afraid that that idea of her wouldn't get noticed unless I made it clear as crystal that she did indeed love him. I have say, I'm feeling incredibly sorry for Sango right now! I feel like I'm just being mean to her. I'm really happy that the scene I made touched you; I can't imagine ever bringing someone to tears with my work, so thank you very much. I also can't believe that you have never been responded to before! If any of your other reviews were as detailed and meticulous as the one's you have given me, I think it is only right to reply in some sort of thanks. Your reviews have made me very happy and I adore just how thorough you are with them, it really gives me an idea of what you liked about my story. Again: thank you so much, and yes, this review did make me just as happy!

Black Betty: Thank you for reviewing. I'm glad that you enjoy the flashbacks, I have worked on them very hard. I hope to hear from you again.

Kagome1312: Thank you for calling my story great! Your review is appreciated and I hope you continue to enjoy it… Oh! You reviewed twice (just noticed…) Thank you! I'll try to keep it up.

Arhazivory: Thank you! With every review I am becoming more and more content with my characterization. Thank you for complementing it so. The review is much appreciated.

Kandy123654: Thank you! It's good to hear from you again! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Psycho: Ahh, I don't mind the spelling matters at all! Actually, I was wondering about that for a long time. My sense of logic tells me that since I am writing in the past tense, it should be laid, but my computer tells me that it is lay, and I say it out and it seems like it should be lay, but I'm usually mad at my computer, so I tend to keep it laid anyway. However, because it bothers you, I will change it (really, no joke). As for the Kouga and Kagome sensing the jewel thing… how will I explain this… to explain it like how I explained it in the story. Kouga and the wolves and sense the jewel's general location, but Kagome can pinpoint that location exactly. I'll try to make an analogy that will probably not make any sense, but I'm going to try it out anyway: Kouga and his wolves can smell something funny in the kitchen (keep with me…) even if they are able to tell just by the potency of the smell it is coming from the kitchen, they have no idea what it really is. Kagome on the other hand, has the magic power to be able to _see_ the fumes coming out gas oven, slowly leaking Carbon monoxide every which way, and can point out just what is wrong to Kouga and his men. Get it? I didn't think so… Ah, and the first scratch was removed by Kagome thanking him for saving her from becoming wolf chow for Kouga and his wolves in their first little encounter. Peace out, my pinecone pal.

PriestessMykala: Thank you so much for reviewing both chapters! You are the only person who did that (besides Psycho, but she has a thing for making parodies out of each chapter so she doesn't really count)! Thank you for your review! I'm happy you enjoyed how I formatted the curse!


	19. Hanashi

Wah!!!! It's waaayyyyy too hot in here!!! I don't know where everyone lives, but I live in an area with a lot of fog and of what is usually very moderate temperature. But lately, it's been clear and hot! It probably isn't as hot as I am exaggerating it to be, but to me it is even worse because I keep my computer on at all times (I'm downloading the drama Gokusen, so I need to) and it makes this tiny room an inferno!!! Not only that, but I was stupid in my planning for my giant Coca-Cola pyramid and it is just in the way of my fan! If I turn it on it'll all fall over!!!! Waaaaahhhhh!!!!!

Chapitre 19

Hanashi (Stories)

By Auroras-flame

Inuyasha was about three-fourths of the way to Kouga's den. He had Kirara on his shoulder, resting, so it would be easier to carry Kagome back.

All of a sudden, Inuyasha caught the scent of Miroku and Kagome directly ahead of him. He sped up briefly and sure enough, they were walking back and had made it this far… He stopped in front of them, and froze solid to see Kagome crying.

He immediately thought the worst: she missed Kouga. He retched, "Good God, woman if you miss him that much, just go back…"

Inuyasha got a sharp jab in the side by Miroku's staff, "That _isn't_ what she's crying about."

Inuyasha huffed, "What then?"

"I heard… about Kikyo…" Kagome sniffed.

Inuyasha turned to Miroku, eyes aflame with rage, "Why the hell did you tell her that?!!!"

Miroku sighed, "I only told her the story, nothing _really_ about the curse… I leave that up to you to show her."

"But…" Inuyasha snarled, "WHY?!"

"She can't be kept in the dark anymore, Inuyasha. It's much too late for that. I know you wanted her to stay ignorant of the past, but it can no longer stay hidden. She deserves to know, especially after tonight," Miroku said steadfastly.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. He said, "Kagome, get on Kirara, Miroku, on my back. We're going to talk."

Miroku's resolve left him quickly, "Uh, you know? I think I would feel safer on Kirara."

"Tough. Kagome, get on Kirara now."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha like she didn't really want to be left out of the conversation, but when Kirara hopped off of Inuyasha's shoulder and transformed into her larger self, she obediently got onto her. Kirara leapt off to the castle leaving Inuyasha and Miroku alone.

Inuyasha glared at him menacingly, "How much does she know…?"

"I was reciting the story of how it happened, I started with your father and his swords, and she has learnt up to the part where Kaede incited the curse," Miroku told him, face grave.

Inuyasha sighed, "Then she knows… about all those people that I…"

Miroku hung his head, "Inuyasha, she doesn't blame you. No one blames you, you know that…"

"That doesn't erase the fact that it did happen and that it was my fault!" Inuyasha snapped.

Miroku looked like he wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut. He said instead, "I suggest we leave before I say something I'll regret later."

Inuyasha turned around so Miroku could climb on, "I agree."

O.o

Miroku and Inuyasha got to the palace just after Kirara and Kagome arrived. They had fretted that they would need to explain everything tonight, but fortunately enough, they found Kagome dead asleep on Kirara's back.

"Would you mind bringing her back up to her room?" Inuyasha asked Kirara. Kirara nodded and made her way. Inuyasha turned to Miroku, "Are you going to check on Sango? She's in her room."

"No, she needs her sleep. Tonight has been much too long," he replied. Miroku let out a yawn, "I may go to bed too, now. Goodnight Inuyasha. Tomorrow is going to be eventful, I can tell."

Inuyasha watched Miroku go inside the castle before sighing and glancing up at Kagome's window. The presence of the dim light radiating off of Kirara suggested that they were in the room now.

Inuyasha lowered his gaze and thought. Kagome had seen him like that… and now she knew the story. His eyes clenched shut, now she knew how many people he had killed, and about Kikyo… and she cried for him…. He really wished that she wouldn't just cry about it, he was so tired of people just pitying him about it. It was his fault that the wish got tainted and so it was his fault that everyone died… but no one had ever blamed him for what happened, they just felt sorry for him, which in truth made the memory all the more painful. If someone, anyone, had outright said that it was his fault, like Kaede did, and he was punished in some way or form, he might actually feel better about it… but no one did, and it just ended up torturing him.

Inuyasha glanced up at the window again. The light from Kirara had disappeared, so she must be sleeping there soundly by now. What was with Kagome, anyway? When was it when she changed so much? Inuyasha was sure that she couldn't stand him, and then all of a sudden she was crying for his life, and willingly traded it in for her own.

Inuyasha had to wonder: would Kikyo have done that? She might, but he was willing to bet that it would have been only under specific circumstances, because she obviously would have let him die on the day of the massacre. Even if she loved him, her job and duty came first, it always did, even in the end.

He never thought that there could be anything after Kikyo. All love had died, all caring had wilted, and all comfort and sympathy was lost with her death. However, after Kagome came to the palace, he began to realize those things again. Her strong sense of morals gave him opportunities to like her and her kindness made it possible to get closer to her.

Inuyasha sighed, still, he could never be too close to her. Why was he bothering to think about this sort of stuff, anyway? He loved Kikyo. His mother was right, that love was never going to fade. Kagome might be kind, but Kikyo died because of him. She died loving him. The least Inuyasha could do is live his life out and die still loving her.

He went back inside the castle. Kagome could never replace Kikyo.

O.o

The next morning, Sango limped out of bed and changed her clothes, washed her face, and went down to the kitchen to see if there would be breakfast.

She poked her head in and saw Miroku preparing the rice. He noticed her, "Oh, good morning Sango."

Sango nodded, "Good morning. Will breakfast be served today?"

Miroku shrugged, "Well, I _was_ going to just make it and then bring it up to anyone who was awake, but we could eat together if you want."

Sango nodded lazily, still drowsy from sleep and yawned, "Sure."

"Alright, go out in the dining room, I'll bring out the rice shortly. I would have you carry some, but I don't want to risk any broken bowls," Miroku said, remembering Sango's almost tipsy morning habits.

Sango snorted, but did as she was told. Miroku followed her out with two bowls of rice and sat down on across from her at the table.

"Itadakimasu," she said before picking up his chopsticks and eating.

"How's your throat?"

Sango looked up at Miroku curiously.

"You swallowed some water before I could bring you up. I can understand why: you had that big Hiraikotsu on your back, but you should really be careful about eating and drinking after that," Miroku advised.

Sango gave him a confused look, but then blushed a little, remembering, "Oh yes… I heard that you just left Inuyasha and Kagome with Kouga to dive in and rescue me."

Miroku laughed, "They had Kirara, and Kagome always seemed to be more than capable when it came to handling Kouga…"

Sango grinded her teeth at that reply, but continued to blush while saying, "I also heard that you tried to punch out Kouga…"

Miroku stopped eating to look up thoughtfully, "Did I? I don't recall…"

Sango's eyes narrowed scornfully. She raised her chopsticks and took a huge chunk of her rice, chewed it harshly and swallowed. She felt her eyes water as it went down her sore throat. She took a gasp of air after it was done and continued to glare at Miroku as if nothing just happened, "Okay, fine, you didn't have any ulterior motives behind saving me, I get it."

Miroku smiled, "I was joking."

Sango's face faltered, "… What?"

"I was joking. I dove in to save you because you were in trouble and I was worried, and I tried to punch out Kouga because it enraged me that he nearly killed you," Miroku said simply.

Sango gaped at him, blushing profusely, "…Miroku…?"

"I probably would have socked him too, if Kagome hadn't held back my arm and told me that Kouga had arranged to let her go…" Miroku said musingly. He leaned in toward Sango, "Had you ever thought, after all these years, that I cared for you deeply enough to give my life at any time if it meant saving yours? I was always there for you when you were hurt, and I was always on your side. I would always try to distract you from all of the drama in your life, even if it meant you'd think less of me, and I have done everything in my power, ever since I was a kid, to keep you happy and smiling, Sango."

Sango gazed at him with tears in her eyes. She was still blushing, but not as red anymore. She smiled, "Miroku… Do you… really mean that?"

Miroku watched her calmly, "Every word."

She flung herself across the table and wrapped her arms around him, forcing him to fall backward to the ground. She lay on top of him, embracing him with a silly smile on her face. Miroku wrapped his arms around her as well.

"Sango…"

Sango looked at him sweetly. She began to lower her head down, her eyes closed and ready to kiss him.

"Ewwww… gross!"

Sango stopped. Miroku froze.

"Geez, don't people _eat _here??!"

The two began to slowly turn their heads toward the entrance.

There stood Shippo, scowling.

He shook his head, "Gods, shouldn't you be fornicating somewhere more _private_ when there are kids running about! You guys just totally ruined my appetite." He turned around mumbling something about checking on Kagome.

Sango got off Miroku, stared blankly off into space, and shook her head, "Why me?"

Miroku stared off in the same direction, "That moment is never going to come back, is it?"

Sango bowed her head and gave Miroku a smile, "Then I guess we'll just have to make another moment, huh?"

Miroku stared at her hopefully and grabbed her hands in desperation, "Please: tell me you are talking about what I think you are talking about."

Sango ripped her hands out of his and glared, "Think more innocently, and then we'll talk."

O.o

Souta and Ms. Higurashi left heir home early in the morning. His mother was already packed and ready before Souta had even woken up.

He was surprised about how energetic and positive she was. The whole morning and in fact ever since she learned that Kagome wasn't dead she had the greatest grin plastered on her face. Souta didn't really understand it. Sure, she should be happy that Kagome was alive, and stuff, but shouldn't she be angry at her husband? Or at the very least worried about the fact that Kagome was forced to live in a palace with only a few people, and last time he was there, over half of them were demons? Ms. Higurashi was all smiles however, it was just bizarre.

His grandfather had notices such weird behavior coming from his daughter. He tried to get some information out of her, but Ms. Higurashi said nothing to give anyone away. It left his grandfather very disgruntled.

Mr. Higurashi had never seemed more relieved. He finally got up the guts to tell his wife the truth and he received the best possible outcome. He really didn't want her going to the palace, but he couldn't work up the gall to say she couldn't.

Rin insisted that she was happy that everything went over as well as it did, but upon word that she couldn't come along without it being very, very suspicious, she had become very lonely looking. Souta didn't _want_ to leave her there, but how would they explain to Grandpa why Rin would go back to a town that she hated?

Ms. Higurashi paused, "Souta-kun? Are you tired?"

Souta looked up at his mother. They were about an hour into their journey, and she still looked as energetic as when they left. Did he look tired then? Perhaps it was the sigh… "I'm fine Mother," Souta assured her, "Let's keep going."

His mother nodded and smiled slightly, "You wouldn't be happening to be thinking about Rin-chan perhaps?"

Souta stared at her blankly before blushing, "Gods, Mom, Rin and I aren't like that."

Ms. Higurashi nodded unconvincingly as she continued to walk along, "Of course… but she is pretty cute, hm?"

Souta winced, "I soooooo do _not_ want to be talking about this with you…" A couple days ago she looked guilty for just feeling happy because Kagome was dead, now she was giggling like a village girl.

"I feel slightly guilty though…" his mother admitted.

Souta gave her a perplexed look.

"… I didn't even get to teach her first lesson. She wanted me to teach her about healing, you know…" Ms. Higurashi explained, "I said I would, but now I'm off to Kagome and leaving her all alone…"

Souta hung his head. That was pretty much how he felt too.

His mother pepped herself up, "Souta, why don't you tell me the whole story about your adventure? I only heard about what Otou-san did, what about you and Rin?"

Souta smiled a little bit and nodded and began to relay the tale.

O.o

"Hey, Kagome. Wake up."

Kagome awoke to a light tapping on her forehead. She groaned and sat up. She was still so sleepy… She felt a weight on her lap and looked down. She sobered up and exclaimed, "Shippo!"

Shippo was already searching her neck. He scowled, "Okay, I feel the jewel, but where the heck is it?"

Kagome blinked, and then checked her hand. She opened up her palm and stared at the jewel, surprised. She had no idea she could grasp something so tightly when she was asleep.

Shippo grinned, "Yay! So that rotten wolf didn't come?"

Kagome's perkiness flew away, and she hung her head. Last night… and Kouga… She corrected him quietly, "No, he came."

Shippo got wide eyed, "And you still have the jewel?! Oh wait, I see, you killed him. Told you it would need to happen sometime."

"We didn't kill him," Kagome said flatly, "He let me and the jewel go."

Shippo stared in disbelief, "-What…? … How??!"

Kagome nodded and told hi the tale from the beginning. When she got to the part about falling out of the cave, she stopped suddenly.

Shippo demanded, "What- then what happened?"

Kagome stood up, knocking Shippo to the ground and running out of her room. She raced to the stairwell and ascended. She headed straight for Inuyasha's room.

She was tired of not knowing. She knew the story now. She understood everything… except what the curse really was. What did it do, how was it a curse? What did she have to do with anything? Why could Sango and Miroku take down Inuyasha in the form so quickly? Why was this mountain so dead? Why did only the Yamaibara thrive?

She climbed up the wooden stairs and entered his room. She wasn't surprised to find him awake, and he didn't look surprised that she had just barged into his room.

"What is the curse?" she asked simply and directly.

Inuyasha sighed, "Where did Miroku leave off…?"

Kagome shook her head, "I've heard the story, **what is the curse**?"

Inuyasha shot her a glare, but Kagome didn't care, she continued on anyway, "I'm so tired of wanting to know, and then being given some dodgy vague answer! I just want to know: what is the curse?"

Inuyasha snarled, "Fool, you don't know half of the story."

That ticked Kagome off, but she just bit her lip and allowed Inuyasha to continue, "Do you even understand what went wrong that day? Do you know what happened in that interval between me fighting Sesshomaru and Kaede? Do you know how Kaede managed to do such a curse?"

Kagome glared. She didn't.

Inuyasha scowled.

"Fine then, tell me," she said, taking a seat, "I'm listening. Tell me, straight out."

Inuyasha stared at her. He turned his head and sighed, "So you were up to where the staff was leaving and I was officially banished, right?"

O.o

_Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha stared at each other. Miroku and Sango had their things packed, they would be leaving for the Western lands soon. Kohaku had still not regained consciousness but he had already been put into transport. His wounds were nearly healed, so Sango had felt it would be all right. Now only a few people still lived in the palace. Very soon, it would only be Inuyasha._

_The past weeks had been tough for him. With the exception of Sango and Miroku, no one dared get near him. The memory of him in demon form, murdering everyone was forever carved into their minds. Inuyasha didn't blame them for being scared, they should have been._

"_Inuyasha," Sango said suddenly, "I'm sorry, I know that you probably don't know but… do you know what exactly happened?"_

_Inuyasha gave her a look._

"_What Sango is trying to ask is… what went wrong? Kikyo was such an excellent priestess, so she shouldn't have miscalculated this greatly on what would happen if you tried to protect her," Miroku explained._

_Inuyasha lowered his head, letting his bangs cover his eyes, "Kaede said… that the wish had been tainted…"_

_Sango and Miroku's eyes widened slightly. Sango mentioned, "I heard Kikyo say that too!"_

"_What wish do they mean though?" Miroku wondered, staring at Inuyasha._

_Inuyasha figured it would be best to tell them, even if it was embarrassing. He figured that they _had_ to be talking about the wish he made to protect Kikyo. He couldn't see it being anything else._

_After telling them the story, Miroku seemed to get an idea, "Oh! Maybe…"_

_Sango leaned in, "Maybe what, Miroku?"_

"_I think I understand," Miroku mumbled, "Yes, it would all make sense. Kikyo thought that the sword was done after Inuyasha had made such a strong, pure wish. She corrected the sword, because it would be practically useless if all he could do is save Kikyo with it. However, because the wish was so strong, he needed to still compensate for his own wish by saving Kikyo at some time or another, since that became its original purpose," Miroku paused to look at the two, "With me so far?"_

_Inuyasha had already known all of this, but Sango nodded, looking slightly unsure, 'I think so…"_

"_Good," he continued, "However, before the sword could be used for its pure intent, something happened. Kikyo began to deny and repel Inuyasha and his affections."_

_Inuyasha winced at the bold statement._

"_Although Inuyasha's pure intent persisted, when Kikyo finally shattered his heart to the point of disrepair, Inuyasha gave up on loving her. He became embittered towards her, defiling his own pure wish," Miroku said._

_Sango nodded and exclaimed, 'I see! So then, when Inuyasha tried to save Kikyo that day, his bitter thoughts warped the Tessaiga and it ended up doing the opposite of what it was meant to do: keep Inuyasha's blood in check…"_

"… _It made him turn into a full blood-lusting demon!"_

"_All because Inuyasha got his heart broken!"_

_Miroku and Sango beamed proudly over their discovery as Inuyasha stared between them in disbelief. Why did he have such insensitive friends?_

"_Inuyasha."_

_The three turned to see Sesshomaru. He had a familiar blood stained parchment in his hands. He held it up, "Have you read this at all?"_

_Inuyasha walked up to Sesshomaru and took Kaede's curse-in-writing, "No."_

_Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, 'Don't you think that it might be important?"_

"_What does it matter if I'm cursed?" Inuyasha spat, "I'm going to be left alone in a castle for the rest of my life. The only thing that I'm going to have to look forward to is death, what harm can a measly curse cause?"_

"_I would consider reading it, or you may get what you're waiting for," Sesshomaru advised._

_Inuyasha gave him a look and finally checked out the parchment. He read over the contents and his eyes widened in surprise. He handed it over to Miroku and Sango, shocked. They both read it over and they both stared at Inuyasha._

"_What the hell kind of curse is this…?"_

O.o

Kagome leaned forward, eyes focused on Inuyasha. She was finally going to hear it. She was finally going to find out what the curse was.

Inuyasha let out a sigh and grimaced, "I can't just say it…"

Kagome's face froze angrily, "…What…?"

"Keep your pants on, I'll just give you the contract," Inuyasha said, getting up and going over to some obscure part of his room to open a chest.

"The contract… is that Kaede's curse-in-writing?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah," he pulled out a crinkled and torn piece of paper and handed it to her. She took it hungrily and read it over. She hit a part, gawked at it as if she didn't understand, and then looked up at Inuyasha.

"You're kidding me," she said flatly.

"Nope."

"Your curse is… that you can't touch a woman or else you turn into a demon?" Kagome asked incredulously, "What kind of curse is that?!!"

"A weird, embarrassing, and surprisingly inconvenient one," Inuyasha shrugged.

"But…" Kagome lowered her head, "That's impossible! I _must_ have touched you before last night! At least once…" Kagome thought back and came to a realization: she had actually never touched Inuyasha. She hadn't even brushed against him…

"I would have thought that it was obvious by now…" Inuyasha mentioned, "Why I wouldn't let you bandage me… all of those times you would try to touch my shoulder and I would just dodge you… Miroku and Sango shouting not to touch me all those times last night… It should have been real easy to pick up on."

Kagome hung her head. She always thought that he just didn't like being touched or something. Not that he was consciously avoiding her for her own sake. She put down the contract, "I'm so sorry, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha cringed, "Why the heck are you apologizing?"

"All of those times that I yelled at you and I thought to myself that you were just being a jerk…"

"Thanks a lot…"

Kagome continued, "… You weren't trying to avoid me; you were really just protecting me…"

Inuyasha blushed and changed the topic, "You still haven't heard everything…"

Kagome glanced down at the contract, "I still haven't read everything…"

Inuyasha offered, "I'll finish up the story first…"

O.o

"_I can't touch women…" Inuyasha said, sort of getting annoyed, "Is that _really_ what Kaede calls a curse? She must have figured out that I was sort of stuck on Kikyo, and I wouldn't be touching one anyway…"_

"_Well, maybe she means "touch" in more of the literal sense," Sango supposed._

"_Even then, why would I go around randomly touching girls?" Inuyasha asked incredulously, "Only perverts like Miroku do that!"_

"_Hey!"_

"_Even then," Sesshomaru interrupted, "You were quite resilient when you were a demon. It is best to be careful."_

_Inuyasha winced and Sango raised an eyebrow, "Wow, even Sesshomaru gets wary after losing an arm…"_

_Sesshomaru shot her a glare, "You are out of line girl. You speak to the Lord of the Western Lands now. Bite your tongue."_

_Sango didn't look very impressed, but didn't say anything. _

_Sesshomaru glanced between Sango and Inuyasha, "On second thought, perhaps it we should test out our new curse. If there is a way, I would take pleasure in finding out how to stop Inuyasha's rampage."_

_The three stared at him as if he were mad._

"_Girl, touch him," Sesshomaru commanded unsheathing a lesser sword._

"_Sesshomaru!" Miroku exclaimed._

"_It's alright," Sango cut in, "I have to agree with Sesshomaru, if Inuyasha is alright with it, I will. I feel it is necessary to find out how to reverse this horrid phase."_

_Inuyasha looked at Sango worriedly. She assured him, "I'll be alright. I'll just poke you and run. What could be easier?" Inuyasha continued to look at her, but eventually gave a nod of consent._

_Sango readied herself, as did Inuyasha. She raised an arm as Miroku was already retreating. She brushed her fingers along his hand and ran for it. _

_Inuyasha waited for something to happen. But nothing really did. He felt no different at all. He opened one eye to see his brother sigh, "What a lark."_

_Sango and Miroku peeked their heads out, "Nothing happened?"_

_Inuyasha stared down at the hand Sango touched, "What the hell? The stupid twit couldn't even cast a decent curse."_

_Sesshomaru sheathed his sword, "Indeed." He took his leave with that._

_The three watched him leave and then just looked at each other. _

"_Maybe we misinterpreted the writing?" Miroku guessed._

"_Maybe Sango really isn't a girl?" Inuyasha suggested next, receiving a blow on the head from Sango._

"_Maybe the priestess sisters weren't as competent as everyone thought they were!" Sango snapped. She turned around, "It's late, I'm going to bed. Good night."_

_Inuyasha and Miroku winced as she left in a huff._

O.o

Yay! I'm almost to 100 reviews! I hope by the time I finish the next chapter I will have 100 reviews… I'll still update if I don't get my goal, but please review everyone! Thank you so very much for the reviews thus far!

Ah- just so you know, next chapter has the contract in it. Something to look forward to maybe?

MULAN-IFUWEREGAY: Ah! I'm sorry for being confusing! I hadn't fully or at least stated clearly what the curse did… until this chapter that is… Thank you for the review!

Psycho: Yeesh. What an emotional review… I make you "go all mushy"? What are you, Kisses in a car? (Think limo…) As for the analogy-getting, to be truthful, I actually thought you might have understood (when I first wrote it I mean) straight off. You shall be known throughout the land as "Megie, the crazy-bad-analogy-getting-and-making-chick-who-just-began-liking-lurks". It'll be something to put on your college application, Pinecone pal. (Yes, I will be ending my review responses with that every single time now)

SoraKoi: Ah, I was feeling sort of bad for Kouga towards the end there. I didn't want to _kill_ Kouga because… well… he's Kouga and I didn't want them to leave him on a bad note because I didn't think Kouga's character would give up on Kagome if that happened. It sort of seemed like the only way… Oh, and I am not troubled by replying at all! In fact, I feel it is just common courtesy to reply to reviews, because like you: I am a lazy teen and if I review, it needs to be some spectacular fic or else I'm going to need some sort of verification that the author cares via reply. -.-;;;. By the way, thank you for reviewing again! I hope to hear from you later.

Claire Cooper: You could easily be right about the Kirara thing. In the latest Viz manga, they definitely typed that Kirara was a he, but considering that Viz has more typos than a kindergartener's journal, I am easily persuaded into believing you on the notion that Kirara is indeed a girl. She will be in this fanfiction at least. Thank you for your review, I hope to hear from you again!

Priestessmykala: Aww, thank you so much! I'm afraid I won't be able to update too quickly for the next couple of weeks, though. I have to CIT at zoo camp so I can graduate high school next year… -.- I'll try to update as much as possible though. Please keep on reading.

TrueBelle: Yeah, it's been pretty angsty for the past couple chapters… that angst should die down soon though. I'm touched that you were moved by my work. I will continue to work hard. Oh, and Sesshomaru doesn't think Inuyasha personally killed his parents, he just feels that he could be held accountable for it, because Kikyo was aiming at him and that was when it hit Inuyasha's mother and then so on and so forth. I'm sorry my writing was confusing. Thank you again for the review.

Kagome1312: Thank you for your kind review! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Denarius: I'm so pleased to hear from you again! I'm very glad that you enjoyed how I ended the situation with Kouga. I too really hate it when Kouga is portrayed as stupid or Kikyo slutty. That really seems to pop up too much in fanfiction these days… I hope you enjoyed the Sango/Miroku in this chapter too… I feel kind of bad… I'm worried that I sort of ruined the moment with Shippo, but I wanted to bring him back into the palace in a sort of funny way, and it turned out to be that way… I hope I didn't disappoint people… Ah, perhaps you could suggest me some good fanfiction? I always love a good story, and you seem to have such high standards (I do too) Is there any particular fanfiction that you would suggest? Thank you for reviewing!

Arhazivory: Good! I'm happy you were surprised. Inuyasha's transformation was the one thing that I tried not to give away too much throughout this story. Thank you also for feeling bad for Kouga. I didn't want him to be entirely villainous, so the fact that you felt bad made me (… happy…?). Thank you for reviewing again and I hope to hear from you next time!

Kandy123654: Ah! Just barely got you in. Oh dear... perhaps I misportrayed Kouga... hm... Thank you for the review!


	20. Gakusetsu

I actually wrote all of this before I went to camp to CIT, but I didn't want to post it until I got about half of my next chapter written, so here it is now. I'm sorry this took so long to come out.

Chapter 20

Gakusetsu (Theory)

By Auroras-flame

Inuyasha stopped the story at an awkward place. Kagome tilted her head in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Inuyasha looked up at her, 'I think you should read the contract now," he said, "By this point, everyone had. Some stuff happens next that you wouldn't understand unless you knew," he motioned with his head toward the contract, "Go ahead. Read it."

Kagome stared down at the contract. Now that she learned so much about it, it almost seemed more mythical than article. She unrolled it slowly, and read it carefully, even rereading the parts she already knew.

O.o

_I curse ye, Inuyasha. I curse ye with the counts of the deaths of myself and my departed Kikyo, who loved you and then died because of your foolishness. Ye could not save her when she needed someone the most. Ye have betrayed and indirectly murdered the only one who will ever love ye so greatly. For this, I curse ye again._

_On the latter charge, I curse ye with the inability to lay hand on any maiden. Kikyo's soul would be unsettled if ye were to ever believe there was another who could replace her. If ye should ever even brush a maiden, ye shall turn into the demon that destroyed so many and risk the lives of those ye cherish, including the one who dared believe she could be my sister's substitute. May she die by your hand if ye were ever to disrespect Kikyo's memory._

_The Yamaibara Kikyo enchanted in thy mother's garden will never die. If they are removed or perish, my sister's enchantment will occur and three more will sprout where there are none. The Yamaibara will grow, and they will suck the life out of this very mountain which is stained with both mine and Kikyo's blood. If they are not disturbed, the Yamaibara will continue to grow over the span of twenty years. At twenty years, they will cover the whole mountain, and when that happens, ye will die. Even if ye are far, far away, you will die, Inuyasha, without escape. My first curse is thus._

_I offer ye redemption, though. If, by chance, ye fear death and wish to escape its clutches, my conditions follow, but be warned: ye were the one Kikyo loved, and I know that a love as superior as hers shall never be surpassed. She died because of ye, remember that always. My conditions: find ye a maiden and do to her what ye could not do for Kikyo, f__or maiden will be eternally grateful for the justices that you have done and reward ye_ _with immunity from my curse. This must be done before twenty years at least, for a dead man has no ways of impressing a maiden._

_Thus is my challenge. Ye shall know the curse is gone when my mark on your arm has disappeared. Even if my curse is gone, I will never forgive ye for not saving Kikyo, ye can only try to rid yourself of this, my persistent curse._

O.o

Kagome looked up from the contract, unsure of what to say. She ended up saying, "That's sort of mean…"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, that's kind of really mean."

"But," Kagome put down the piece of paper, "I'm not sure I understand what role I play in this still… I mean, I know I'm the "maiden" but what exactly do I do?"

Inuyasha shrugged, "You do nothing. Just don't touch me and let me save you whenever you get yourself in danger, and this thing will just go away."

Kagome gave him a confused look, "…Save me?"

Inuyasha nodded and gave her a look like she was an idiot, "Yeah, _save you_. That's what the contract says. Once you thank me for rescuing you, my curse goes away."

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows together and glanced at the paper, "I didn't think it meant save me, I thought Kaede was talking about love."

Inuyasha grabbed the contract away from her, "Are you stupid? Look, it says here that I'm supposed to do what I couldn't do while Kikyo was alive, I couldn't save her!" his voice became insistent, "I loved her! I love her…" Inuyasha was getting more and more emotional when he spoke more of the curse and Kikyo.

Kagome winced when she realized this. The last thing that she wanted was to wound him further than he already was. Regardless of that, she mentioned quietly, "But Kaede didn't think so, did she? She even said that you didn't love Kikyo like she loved you, am I right?"

Inuyasha cringed and hung his head. He regained his enthusiasm again quickly and he rolled back his sleeve and strongly insisted, "No, look." He revealed to Kagome three long scratches on his wrist, "These were the scratches that Kaede inflicted upon me right before she died. There were four of them at first, but that day when you thanked me for saving you and everyone else from Kouga, one of them disappeared. It has to be saving you, it has to be."

Kagome examined his wrist from the distance and nodded her head, "I suppose you're right, but I sort of have to wonder…"

"What's there to wonder about?!" it was getting clearer and clearer that Inuyasha didn't like Kagome's meddling. Kagome knew this, but she continued to ponder away anyway, "It just doesn't make sense. I admit that I have never known Kaede personally, but from what I have heard of her… doesn't she sound more like the type that would _resent_ you for saving another girl when you couldn't save Kikyo?"

Inuyasha remained silent. Kagome took this as a yes and continued, "It seems to me, that she felt that no one could surpass her sister, whether it be as a priestess or as one who loves. I think that Kaede's challenge… well, it sounds like it is more of a cruel game… by the way she phrases things, "her conditions". It all sounds very shady…"

"What are you getting at?" Inuyasha interrupted.

"I think she believed that no one could love you more than Kikyo did, and anyone in love with Kikyo was incapable of loving another," Kagome shrugged, "Therefore, she tried to make her conditions of redemption impossible."

Inuyasha sat back and sneered, "Interesting theory but…" he held up his wrist again, "one of the scratches are gone so I think I am right."

Kagome sighed, "You could easily be. I don't know much about this curse or this story, I admit that. But all I'm saying is, it sounds fishy and I have to wonder if there is another part to this curse that isn't written down…"

"That's ridiculous, why wouldn't all of the curse be written down?" Inuyasha shot down her idea.

"You said only one scratch disappeared? Where is the mention of _that_ in this contract?" Kagome pointed out. Inuyasha shut up quickly and scowled.

She went on, "It's possible I'm wrong, I know that, but what if saving me isn't the best thing you could be doing… what if it wasn't in turn saving you, but counting down, one by one to something a lot worse…?" Inuyasha stared at her, she could see worry and insecurity in his eyes. She didn't want him like that, but she had to add in anyway, "Kikyo died because you tried to save her. If I were Kaede, I would think the most divine punishment for you in the world would be to work away your time saving girls until you finally feel you think you have worked it off and something terrible happens like you kill the girl or you yourself die."

Inuyasha continued to look intently at her. Finally he snapped back his head and let out a laugh, "How scary; when the hell do you think up this stuff? Saving you has gotten me one scratch less, so I think I'll stay with my theory… Oh!" He turned back to her, "Speaking of which, I could show you right now, if you thanked me for last night when I saved you from falling off that cliff!"

Kagome gave him a worried look, "Inuyasha…"

"Just do it, you'll see."

Kagome lowered her head, "Are you really sure… Have my words not reached you at all…?"

"Please, Kagome. You _are_ thankful, aren't you?" Inuyasha asked seriously.

Kagome nodded, "I am… but…"

"Just say it Kagome, please," he looked nearly desperate right then.

Kagome finally ceded, "Inuyasha, thank you for saving my life last night."

Sure enough, right before her eyes, the scar left by one of the scratches paled into skin color, disappearing from sight.

Inuyasha grinned broadly, "Yes!" he cheered, looking more relieved than happy. Kagome stared at his arm. She couldn't help but think that just one scar disappearing at a time was ominous, but… she looked straight at Inuyasha's face… he looked so happy, and she had really disturbed him enough for one day. She gave him a reassuring smile, "You're right Inuyasha. I'm sure nothing bad will happen after those two go away. I'm sorry for saying such horrible things." She didn't believe in a word she said, but it seemed to comfort Inuyasha a little.

He smiled back, slightly cocky, "Yeah! Once this is over, I'll be curse free and you can go home, and everyone will be fine. Yeah."

Kagome nodded. If Inuyasha wanted to believe that, she had no business in trying to change his mind. Anyway, since when did she have any good gut instincts about anything? She was abducted by a wolf she had assured everyone was a great guy, only to find him with his foot on Inuyasha's throat; and she was also led to the castle, fully believing she would just be picking Yamaibara when in fact…

Kagome stopped herself and finally came to a realization, "Ah! I get it now!"

Inuyasha gave her a look, "Get what?"

"I get why you got so angry at my father for picking the Yamaibara! If three grow for every one picked, he sped up the date for when you die…!" Kagome hit her fist on her palm, "I get it, that'd tick me off too, but…" she turned to look at Inuyasha, "… did you really have to threaten to kill him?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Geez, you haven't figured it out already?" He scratched the back of his head, "I wasn't _really_ going to kill him you know. I just wanted to scare him enough so he wouldn't come back… but then he mentioned you and well…" Inuyasha shrugged, "I really couldn't pass the chance up."

Kagome nodded. Everything was making sense now. Everything, from the time she stepped into the palace was starting to make sense. She glanced at the contract. Everything was because of that curse…

Inuyasha stood up, "I'm going to tell Sango and Miroku about this," he held up his arm. He walked to the stairs and said, sort of awkwardly, "I'll see you at lunch then…?"

Kagome smiled weakly and nodded, "I'll see you at lunch."

Inuyasha left and just then Kagome remembered he was supposed to tell her the rest of the story. Oh well. Did it really matter? She would probably find it out sooner or later anyways.

O.o

Lunch time came around and Sango was feeling a little nervous. Inuyasha had shown the missing scratch to her and Miroku and they were happy until Kagome approached her just before lunch and spoke to her of her own suspicions.

Sango bowed her head and took a slurp of her soup. Did Kagome realize how uneasy she made people with those sorts of theories? Inuyasha looked troubled too, and Miroku didn't know anything about it…

Miroku…

Sango blushed. She hadn't told Kagome yet… she hadn't told anybody! Only she and Miroku knew… and Shippo….

She slowly turned her head towards Shippo to see him glaring at her as if she were something nasty. She slowly looked away. That wasn't good. Should she just announce it? Surely Miroku wouldn't care if she did… or would he?

Sango's hand was shaking now. All of this pressure was getting to her…

"Are you alright Sango?" Kagome asked, noticing her hand.

Sango squeaked and dropped her chopsticks. She quickly recovered and shook her head vigorously blush creeping up her face, "No! Nothing's wrong!"

Kagome crawled closer to her, "Are you sure…? You look all flushed…"

Sango reared away from Kagome and glanced at Shippo again. He was glaring at her and shaking his head. She glanced over at Miroku who was watching her worriedly, "Sango, are you well?"

Sango blushed more. She couldn't handle this. She was no friend of love, hardly an acquaintance. She needed to go lie down somewhere. She shook her head, "No! I don't think I am. I may have a cold, I'm going to go lie down in my room…" Sango rose from the table and strode to the door.

"A cold? That's not good, we got so close to each other this morning, I might have caught it!" Miroku exclaimed merrily.

Kagome and Inuyasha stared at Miroku in disbelief. Sango did the same. Shippo shuddered and declared, "This is _so _not lunch time conversation. Forget this; I'm going to my room." He got up and left, leaving Miroku to be gawked at by the three.

Sango growled and then yelled, "Why did you have to go and say that, Miroku?!!"

Kagome twisted her head around to Sango, "It's true?!!"

Miroku nodded happily, "Yes! Sango and I are now a pair!" he declared in a sing-song voice. He suddenly looked shy and put his hands up to his cheeks and murmured in a coy voice, "She was so ferocious this morning; she just jumped on me…"

Sango was burning up from embarrassment and rage, "STOP TELLING THEM THAT!!!!"

Kagome turned back to Sango again, "That's true too?!!"

Inuyasha leaned back in shock, "After all these years…"

"Yes! Please tell us that you are happy for us!" Miroku cried in a girly fashion.

Kagome grinned and nodded vigorously, "I am! I am!"

Sango marched over and grabbed Miroku by the ear and yanked very hard, "You. Come with me."

"Yes ma'am."

They both left the dining room and headed out for the entry hall. Sango let go of his ear and turned on him, frustrated and embarrassed, "Why did you do that?!"

Miroku smiled merrily and chimed, "Because we're a couple now!"

Sango flushed and became bashful, "But…" she began to fidget her fingers, "I hadn't even told Kagome yet…"

"Oh is that it…" Miroku paused in thought before perking up, "Well how about we do something else that you _can_ tell her about?!"

Sango glared at him and hissed, "That's not funny," before storming off to the stairwell. She heard Miroku call after her, "I wasn't joking!!"

Was this relationship actually going to work…?

O.o

Inuyasha and Kagome stared at the shoji doors that Sango and Miroku just exited out of. Kagome smiled, "I'm so happy for them!"

"I didn't see that coming…" Inuyasha mumbled, "Well, at least not at this time…"

Kagome looked at him curiously, "What do you mean?"

Inuyasha explained, "Sango and Miroku have been together for a really long time. Their fathers had been close so it seemed only natural that they would be too. However, when Miroku hit puberty, he became a lecher…" Inuyasha said bluntly, "and Sango pushed him away for obvious reasons. They were just starting to get over it when…" he paused and lowered his head, "… _that_ happened."

Kagome nodded her head, understanding.

Inuyasha went on, "Once they were kept here, my problems sort of predominated over theirs and they never really got the opportunity to bond like they used to, or at least, they felt it was inappropriate to. So they didn't. I was starting to believe that they would wait until the curse was either lifted or had killed me before actually getting together… They were both so stubborn until you came around…" Inuyasha stopped himself from saying anymore.

Kagome smiled, but then added in quickly, 'Oh! You never told me the rest of the story!"

Inuyasha looked up in thought and nodded, "You're right. Do you want to hear it now?"

"If you want to tell it now," Kagome said, making herself comfortable.

O.o

"_Good bye Inuyasha," Sango bowed her head._

_Inuyasha watched her sadly, "Good bye Sango."_

_Miroku patted him on the back, "Farewell, friend."_

_Inuyasha nodded, "Bye, Miroku."_

_Sango gave a frustrated groan, "I can't believe that this is it. Inuyasha, you can't seriously be thinking of staying here alone!" It was the final day, everyone was leaving. After today, Inuyasha would be all alone. They were standing at the front door, saying their goodbyes._

_Inuyasha shrugged, "What else am I supposed to do? No one is going to stay here with me and it isn't like I'm going to be welcomed at the Western Lands, I'm banished, remember?"_

_Sango gave a hurt look, "I'm sorry Inuyasha. I would stay but…"_

_Inuyasha shook his head, "I know. You should go see Kohaku. You too, Miroku. I'll be fine."_

_Miroku and Sango exchanged looks. Miroku suggested, "Sango, maybe after Kohaku heals we could come back… Our parents were the ones who kept us near the Lord Inutaisho for all this while but now…" Miroku stopped, realizing that he had terrible phrasing, "… there is nothing keeping us bound to the Western Lands, I'm sure Kohaku would agree…"_

_Sango nodded her head enthusiastically, 'That's a good idea Miroku!" she turned to Inuyasha, 'We'll do that. We'll be back Inuyasha."_

_Inuyasha only cringed at the suggestion, "Please guys, don't, really." The pair's smiles disappeared._

"_Don't go through all that much for me," Inuyasha said solemnly. Sango and Miroku looked like they wanted to protest so Inuyasha cut them to the chase, "I killed your parents remember? I can't accept your forgiveness over a matter like that. If you stay, it'll just make me feel bad, you know?"_

_Miroku and Sango understood and hung their heads._

"_You should go, everyone is leaving," Inuyasha suggested. Miroku and Sango exchanged sad, worried glances._

"_Wah! Wait for me!!!"_

_All three snapped their heads up to see one last maid running across the entry hall towards the door, clutching a bag close to her chest._

"_A lagger," Miroku diagnosed simply._

_When the maid made her way to the door, she noticed Inuyasha and stopped momentarily. It was understandable, anyone would pause at the sight of Inuyasha after the massacre. She lowered her head and mumbled, "Excuse me," as she brushed past him to get through the door. Inuyasha made an odd noise._

_Sango looked up and stared in horror as she saw what was happening. Inuyasha had all of a sudden become very tense and was trembling. Sango could see the white of his eyes quickly phasing from white to red and then back again, flickering like candlelight. He was changing._

_She spent no time gripping the wrist of the maid. Miroku had noticed too and he had already grabbed Sango's arm, "We run!"_

_Inuyasha wasn't chasing them yet. Perhaps he had realized it was happening and was trying to hold it back? They caught up to the main group and Sango grabbed her Hiraikotsu off a cart they were trying very hard to slowly bring down the mountain steps. She glanced over at Sesshomaru, who was part of the last party and yelled, "Sesshomaru! He's changed!"_

_Without looking surprised or worried, Sesshomaru unsheathed his sword and started to charge up the steps. In fact, he looked a little satisfied. _

_Sango flung Hiraikotsu around once to make it easier to face Miroku, "We go too."_

_Miroku gave her a serious fixed stare and yelled, "Are you insane? That thing killed our parents and seriously wounded Kohaku and Sesshomaru! What possibly possessed you to think that _we_ could handle it? It isn't Inuyasha anymore, it is something much too powerful and way beyond our control."_

_Sango looked at him with surprise and offense. She glowered, "Fine. Stay here. If there is a quick way to snap him out of this, I will find out how alone. I owe that much to Father and Kohaku." She swung the Hiraikotsu around to gain more momentum up the stairs. She could hear Miroku calling out to her, but she ignored it._

_Sango arrived at the top of the steps quickly. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were already dueling it out bare handed. Flashes of yellow and red demonic power flew every which way from the brothers. Sango raised her Boomerang Bone into the air and began swinging. She threw it full force at the pair shouting to Sesshomaru, "Duck!"_

_Sesshomaru narrowly dodged the flying bone and Inuyasha got only barely nicked in the arm. Sesshomaru threw her a cold, venomous glare, "You're interfering, girl."_

_The Boomerang Bone began to returned and Inuyasha managed to just avoid it this time. Sango caught it and scoffed at Sesshomaru's words. She didn't have a chance to retort with anything clever however, because the second she was in possession of the Hiraikotsu, Inuyasha turned his attention away from Sesshomaru and onto Sango. He began to storm towards her with his demonic speed, the same speed that had overcome both her and Miroku's father. Sango could only think to crouch down and raise up her Hiraikotsu for protection and hope it would hold._

"_BIND."_

_Inuyasha stopped in midair and was held there in a stillness that was beyond the line of natural. Recognizing the voice, Sango turned around and murmured in a voice filled with relief, "Miroku!"_

_Miroku did not look so happy he stomped over and collapsed on his knees next to her. He was sweating and breathing hard. "Don't EVER DO THAT AGAIN," he panted un-forgivingly._

_Sango was too relieved to protest. She hung her head and smiled, grateful just to be alive. Miroku stood up and drew out more binding charms and huffed harshly, "It's already wearing off…" Sango flung her head around to see Inuyasha was speedily regaining the ability to move his smaller ligaments._

_Sango brought up Hiraikotsu, ready for the worse as Inuyasha could now move all but his torso. Sango got into a fighting position, as did Miroku._

_Sesshomaru suddenly appeared behind Inuyasha, and delivered a short, sharp blow to the back of the head. Sango and Miroku released their stances as they saw Inuyasha's eyes widen in pain, and then slowly roll back into his head, paling to a normal white._

_Sango lowered her weapon and Inuyasha collapsed to the ground as the charm completely wore off. Miroku took a wary step toward the corpse-like body, "…Is he… okay?"_

_Sesshomaru made a noise that sounded like a sigh, "It smells like he has returned to his half-breed self."_

_Sango took that as opportunity to run over to his body and attempt to have him regain consciousness. Miroku grasped her shoulder before she could even get within a meter of him, "Sango! He just _changed_!! Kaede's curse came true! Don't just go over there, keep you're distance!"_

_Sango clenched her teeth. He was right, that was incredibly reckless. She argued anyway, "But- earlier! I was able to touch him and nothing happened!"_

_Miroku ceded, "Yes, that is strange, but just in case; don't go anywhere near him." Sango had never seen Miroku so grave. She backed off, "Alright, I won't go near. Just help him, okay?"_

_Miroku nodded, looking a little more relieved. He went past Sango and crouched down over Inuyasha. Sesshomaru was already standing over him looking rather intrigued._

_Miroku was trying to get Inuyasha to come to when Sesshomaru approached Sango, "Girl, what happened before he turned?" he inquired._

_Sango didn't appreciate being called "girl" but she told him regardless, although somewhat bitterly, "A lagging maid grazed him upon passing. He began to change immediately."_

_Sesshomaru mentioned with a deceptively indifferent tone, "But you didn't trigger a change…"_

_Sango shrugged, "Perhaps the curse didn't take effect immediately?"_

_Sesshomaru sneered, "There is no such thing." He looked over at Inuyasha still unconscious and ordered simply, "Touch him again."_

_Miroku over heard and stood up, "No! You've already put her in enough danger, Sesshomaru. She would have _died_ just now if I had not intervened. Find another girl for your sick trials."_

"_If he does change you can use you're binding charms again if you wish," said Sesshomaru, sounding piqued, "But I wish to know more about this curse." With that, Sango felt her wrist being ripped away from the comfort of her side and forced upon Inuyasha's face._

_Sango let out a scream, just from the sudden shock, and Miroku immediately yanked her out of Sesshomaru's grasp and pulled her away, guarding her front with his staff, preparing for the worst._

_Sesshomaru stood over Inuyasha's body and stated, "Nothing."_

_Miroku lowered his staff and Sango's muscles loosened. _

_Sesshomaru practically spat, "No change in his blood at all."_

_Sango crept over to Inuyasha's body and touched his forehead lightly, and as if it were a stove, withdrew it quickly, just in case. When there was no sign of change, she laid her hand firmly over Inuyasha's crown._

"_He's entirely unaffected…" stuttered Sango._

_Miroku examined Inuyasha over Sango's shoulder, "It doesn't make sense."_

_Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, he was silent in thought for a moment, but then turned around and walked toward the stairs. He paused at the steps and commanded, "Both of you are to stay here with him."_

_The pair watched Sesshomaru, unsure if they heard him correctly._

"_I'm curious about this curse. I might investigate it at some point, until then, I want you two to make sure he doesn't end up killing himself and others. Do you understand?"_

_Miroku shook his head, "I don't think we do!"_

_Sango cried, "What about Kohaku?!"_

"_He will be treated at the Western Palace. I will send merchants here once a month to sell goods. One of them will have the condition of your brother," said Sesshomaru._

"_This is way too sudden!" Miroku exclaimed._

_Sesshomaru was unmoved, "I will have your things removed from the cart and brought back up to your rooms…"_

_Miroku walked straight up to the dog demon, "Are you even listening to me?! This is mad!"_

_Sesshomaru shot him a glare, "What is the difference? I could conceive _her_," Sesshomaru motioned towards Sango, "having a problem with this, but what exactly are you leaving monk? There is nothing for you at the Western Palace, so just do as I say."_

_Miroku glowered, but took a step backward. Sango was biting her fingernails, nervous and afraid._

"_What… what just happened?"_

_The group looked over at Inuyasha, who was now sitting up and looking around worriedly, "I did it again, didn't I?"_

_Sango assured him, "You didn't kill anybody, don't worry."_

"_Inuyasha," interjected Sesshomaru, "You are to stay in this palace with the demon hunter and the monk as your retainers. If you wish, try to break your curse, but do so in this place; I don't want to scour to the land looking for you. Have your new staff fill you in on the rest." With that, Sesshomaru disappeared down the stairs, leaving Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku to their new home; their new prison._

O.o

Inuyasha looked at Kagome expectantly.

Kagome had her head tilted and her eyes lowered. She asked slowly, "And… have you heard from Sesshomaru at all over the years?"

Inuyasha scoffed, "Not once. That was the last time I saw him. I wouldn't know if he was even alive if not for the merchants that come every month."

Kagome nodded and asked, "What have you been doing since then? Have you ever tried finding a girl to break the curse before me?"

"Well," Inuyasha said, "Since we got stranded here. Miroku and Sango would duel me frequently, first binding me, then knocking me out, in case I ever turned again. As for girls, you're the first," Inuyasha coughed, "We tried it on Sango, saving her from perils and stuff. We would chop down the dead trees on the hill and have them fall on her, and I would whack the tree away," he gave a slightly peeved grin, "Clearly, it never worked."

Kagome winced as she imagined the experience. She questioned, "But, why _didn't_ you change when Sango touched you?"

Inuyasha shrugged, "I really don't know. We've come up with theories, but none of them seem to fit why the maid would set me off but not Sango."

Inuyasha's face froze and his ear twitched. Kagome tried to look him in the eyes, "What's wrong?"

Inuyasha gave an annoyed look, "_People_." He rose, "I need to go chase them off. They're too close to the castle."

"Out of curiosity, just how many people have you chased away over the years," Kagome asked, folding her arms.

Inuyasha cracked his knuckles, "Lots." His face changed once again and he stared at Kagome oddly, almost as if she had something stuck on her face.

Kagome ventured, "Now what?"

"This smell… I think it's your brother…" Inuyasha said.

Kagome's eyes widened, "What?!"

"And there's someone else… but it isn't the little girl he traveled with, or even your father… it's someone else…" Inuyasha looked concerned. He gave her a glare of accusation, "Just how many people are going to come up here to see you?"

Kagome shook her hands, perplexed, and fluttered frantically, "I don't know!"

Inuyasha sighed and folded his arms, "Well, do you want to come?"

Kagome cocked her head, "I can?"

"Well, I can't exactly get away with scaring them away now, can I? And there's no doubt that they are coming here to see you, why prolong it?" Inuyasha figured.

Kagome warily stood up and gave a short nod. Who on Earth could be with Souta? Maybe he picked up yet another friend when traveling to see her?

Inuyasha and Kagome went out to the entrance hall and then through the doors.

The moment the door was opened, Kagome saw Souta's head popping up from the stairs. She walked over to him with her hands on her hips, "Souta, I hope you didn't leave home again without telling our famil-"

Kagome couldn't even manage to finish her sentence when she saw Souta's companion. Her hands left her hips and rose to her mouth, "Mama!"

Ms. Higurashi ascended the steps two at a time and jumped to her daughter in an embrace before she was even at the top. "Kagome!" she exclaimed, tears in her eyes, "Kagome, my Kagome!"

O.o

Oi vey. Sorry I've been gone for so long. I needed to do some CIT camp thing and then I went to Disneyland and now I have family over so actually sitting down and writing has been difficult for me. (Not to mention that now I have to study and read all of my books for the AP classes I'm taking…) So; good news bad news moment: bad news: I see no possible way of finishing this before summer is over (I'll try, but no promises…) Good news (sort of): I'm working on a new fanfic. I'm not even going to try to publish it until I finish Yamaibara or I finish the first five chapters of it, but added in the next chapter (for a limited time) I will have the first page of Fauxbiz Love (the current name) added with the chapter. Until then, here are some replies to your reviews.

SoraKoi: Yup, I was sort of going for the : "….. What?" reaction. Your long review is mourned, but I'm happy to see any review at all, so thank you!

TrueBelle: Yup, no one saw it coming, which surprised me… Yes, Kaede in this fic is utterly psycho. Psychosis should hopefully be explained in a later chapter, (I think the one after the next one). I'm happy you enjoyed the Sango/Miroku fluff. I felt really bad for destroying it with Shippo, but they'll get their chance later.

MULAN-IFUWEREGAY: Yup, the entire Sango thing_ will_ be explained, but not until a couple chapters later. So, you really shouldn't understand the curse just yet…

Denarius: Oh no, how were you injured? (I'm sorry that I'm asking nearly a month later…) All of your predictions made me laugh. I won't tell you if you were right or not, you'll just have to wait and see… Ah, so you're a Sess/Kag fan, are you? Actually, I've noticed that the majority of fanfics I've read, the Sess/Kag ones were for some reason better written (I don't know why though…). I haven't had the opportunity to look at any of the fics yet (I've been tiresomely busy) but I plan to as soon as I'm done posting this chapter. I'll give you my opinion at the end of the next chapter. Until then, I await your next review!

Priestessmykala: Thanks, camp was… fun? (Better than I thought it would be anyway). I hope this chapter gave a little more insight on the curse for you. It isn't all of it though, as Kagome points out. I hope to hear from you again.

Black Betty: Short, sweet, to the point. Thank you for the review.

Arhazivory: I haven't seen Transformers yet (and I suppose I won't see it until it comes out in DVD…) Thank you for saying you'll be with me until the end of the story. I'll try hard to actually finish it (It's over half way!). I'm happy you enjoyed the bits with Sango and Miroku and the OUCH in the review made me laugh. Thank you for reviewing and I hope to hear from you again.

Psycho: Hello, granted you'll not even read this until you've come back from Japan. You're reviews are always funny to read. You can really tell that you make them while going through the chapter and while being half-asleep. I'm kind of worried how you're going to fair at the first day of school…. (I'm not carrying your sleeping corpse from class to class….)

Kagome1312: Out of your questions, I can only answer: yes, something will happen between them, because this is an Inu/Kag fic and will remain one. Thank you for your review and I'm sorry I couldn't answer more of those questions…

Scentless Apprentice09: Ah, a new face! Thank you for reviewing! Don't feel odd about liking Youkai Inuyasha. My best friend still manages to amaze me with her lusting for much stranger characters. Hearing things like that from someone else for a change is actually rather refreshing. I hope to hear from you again, then!


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